I was in a similar position once - eager to begin investing.In my experience and piggybacking on Emma's response, there are pros and cons to both approaches that are worth considering:Buying an investment property first allows you to dip your toes into landlording while still renting yourself.

"Thank you for your application, we have decided to rent to somebody else".Why is this not an option?

I'm in Atlanta, GA which gives me fewer options with that budget unless I go with condos with HOA's that allow rentals, or venture out to towns outside of Atlanta like Macon, GA, Athens, Lagrange etc...

Try to narrow down your options to the top 3-4.

Sounds like the best option is find a local investor that needs some extra capital that I trust.

If you want to buy a home and live in it for a few years before renting it out, I will look at low-money down conventional/FHA options; if you cannot qualify conventionally with your DTI, I would look at DSCR loans.

The only options that seem available to us are add the parents to our application, remove either parents or wife from the duplex, or in the future put the rents all in my wife's name which might negatively affect my in-laws.You guys are my Hail Mary, hoping you can spot a solution I'm missing!

From stainless steel to white, and even soapstone, there’s tons of options to choose from.

Flipping homes is still a s option.

If possible, I would suggest looking into negotiating a cash for keys option.