I know that I can qualify for FHA, but I would like to explore other options. 

I’ve been thinking about seller financing, something to explore once it’s under contract.

You could still partner with this friend in the future, but starting with a HH will help you reduce you're living expenses and give you more freedom to explore other jobs.

We've already explored the FHA route, but with the restrictions in place, we have found that this is impossible for us to do in Chicago (i.e. per the lender: must be 100+ miles from our current property, FYI loan limits,  they won't take into consideration the potential income for the unit we are currently living in to calculate debt to income ratio which is about $3000+ per month, etc). 

I have explored the commercial loan option and was hoping to hear from others who may have been in similar situations. 

.- Explore markets. 

@Isaac Islas I'd also explore setting up a US LLC, getting an EIN number, and US Bank account.

I am assuming if ALL are rented section 8, they all should be already conformed To add value I would suggest to explore subsidizing opportunities, for example, can you turn 3bdrm into 2bdrm and 1bdrm, legalize it and rent section 8? 

I have one that explored private loans, but in general those very expensive.

@Neil PolehnYou can explore a self-directed IRA.