My main concern is the fact that the railroad is in very close proximity.

@Gonzalo Sequeira The best analogy I can provide was provided to me by a mortgage broker friend: "If you're in the market to buy a Mercedes (conventional loan on attractive terms), you don't go to the Honda dealership (FHA loans)."

My main focus is the I5 corridor from Everett to Blaine but I'll take a deal wherever it leads me. 

We are planning on buying a 3-4 unit multifamily in Maine and house hacking for a year.

Mainly in the Providence County Area.

My main interest was in an assumption, but I am now interested in a deed of trust.

We used a 25 year amortization schedule with 5 year terms and received attractive interest rates. 

I'm a father of three beautiful kids and would like to spend more time with them which is my main motivation to invest in real estate. 

Mainly MLS (REO, Short Sale, Keywords) and driving for dollars attempting to put together my own absentee owner list (takes forever driving for dollars, but good to learn neighborhoods).

If not you should be able to see where the main drain line exits the house so you can at least get a sense of which direction the tank should be.