We're currently working on some minor TLC on our personal residence and are going to look into using a HELOC to fund our first flip.

FHA loans for mixed use properties are absolutely available for primary residences.

Having said that, if you don't have a primary residence yet, you could look at a multi unit and get started with that.  

I think I've worked out a solution.

Hello all, I am currently residing in central NJ, and as most people know the the market in my neighborhood is a little tougher to get into than most when you don't have a significant amount of cash laying around to invest. 

Possibly Westerly AreaWe are looking to hopefully be able to use conventional financing if the deal allows, which I think is a good place to start learning given I have already been through that process with my primary residence.

@Lydia Bolling most of the hard work can be done anywhere you have an internet connection so your lunch hour and after the kids go to bed are perfect times to do research, if you don't have enough time maybe the solution is to narrow the search so that you have less properties to sift through

First, your goals should never include a number of properties...those are the wrong numbers to focus on.Second, holding the property appears to not be a profitable solution. 

My fiancée and I are looking to buy our first place maybe next year, I was hoping that I would be able to put 5 - 10% down and still get first time home buyer (cmhc site specifies primary residence, not investment properties).

Was the seller living in it as a primary residence and decided to rezone it prior to putting it on the market?