What are you hoping to obtain from coaching?

To readily obtain the highest end tenant I desire, it’s imperative that my properties have the following characteristics1.

In New Hampshire, title laws are strict, so we couldn’t move forward without obtaining a signature from a living heir.The title company dug deep and eventually located a distant relative—a niece of the deceased owner, two generations removed.

It's easy to obtain, costs very little, and doesn't require extra, on-going effort to maintain.

During the escrow/title process, you are finalizing loan documents, reviewing title documents (HOA disclosures if applicable, title reports, etc), obtaining homeowner's insurance, and preparing to wire your funds to title. 

Please do this first:  contact the local Housing Authority office in your market area and obtain the landlord package.

As eric pointed out, someone who lives in Phila will have to be registered as a manager of the property to obtain a rental license - usually a PMPersonally if you're looking to target SFH I would recommend: Roxborough (for 3+ bedroom - there is a large saturation for 1-2 bed apartments in area), East falls, E and W Mount airy (need to be proficient in neighborhood to know where the good and not so good blocks are, and far NE philly.

Just ask the guy if its something he would entertain. 

As someone relatively young, obtaining a conventional loan has proven challenging for me.

If possible, in the future I would try to obtain a copy of a standard Condo questionnaire from the HOA prior to the mortgage application process and ask your lender to review it in advance in order to mitigate some of the time and costs risks associated.