I have been interested in Real Estate since reading Rich Dad Poor Dad in roughly 2000.  

Traditional How did you add value to the deal?

The loan requirements are the same as a traditional FHA loan underwriting (owner occ, 3.5% down at 580 credit or better, Mortgage Insurance, etc) except you can use up to 75% of the rent roll to lower your DTI ratio, and you cannot have any existing FHA loans outstanding unless 100 miles away from subject property.The 203K loan has a lot of upside but is quite cumbersome to navigate.

You have to leave your money in for either the life or terms on the investment if it's a flipping Reit or 2 to 5 years on a traditional one.

Given you won't have the traditional 20-25% down, it will be even harder for you to cash flow.

(Contemporary, modern, traditional, etc.)

Buy a property with multiple units using a traditional mortgage and 3-5% down.

The cost of the project will be at least the same, probably more (bc most contractors have never worked with them so they charge a premium), and will probably take longer to build too (same reason that price is higher) than a traditional stick built project. 

As for a new roommate while traditional screening is important you might be better off with someone with a lower credit score (due to lack of history) that you personally feel you can get along with. 

I’ve read rich dad poor dad, but want to read more real estate investing books.