I do not want to pay my loans off early because I am on track for them to be forgiven (through a program based on my employment field) in four years, which represents a huge financial boon for me.The lender told me that Fannie/Freddie guidelines recently changed regarding student loans for DTI calculations.

I ended my w2 employment on 12/31/15.

Definitely start first by getting educated about the various ways to get started, then consider all of the methods against your current resources (cash/credit/network/skill-set/income/assets/debt/time/knowledge/experience/etc...), desires, likes/dislikes, near-term, medium-term and long-term goals, and time that you have to devote to doing REI. 

Say after a week or two you have a potential buyer, but said buyer can't qualify for a traditional mortgage for whatever reason (possibly self employed).

I usually prepare several owner financing methods in advance, so I have some options in the conversation.  

Sales Method. 

I would verify with employer if possible but this may just be for entertainment value as this couldn't be verified until after he lost his job or moved out. 

I'm looking for a best method to market to the Hispanic community.

Frankly, I'm a little perplexed as to why you didn't choose this option at the outset as the savings in Self Employment tax is likely to be somewhat significant for somebody who has potentially so much profit.  

I know its a popular method, it will vary county by county....