In order to have positive affects on your FICO (or any of the credit models) you will need to have positive trade lines.

It could affect the number I choose for an initial offer, but I definitely don't budge on the max number.

I've since tried to go back to CrowdMason, but my password and username don't work and repeated emails get no answer.

It bears repeating: stick to your numbers.

They don't affect what I do with wholesaling.

Make sure you check the violations and if they affect your ability to get the property habitable.

Until my loan officer told me yesterday that because the appraisal found that it's "Legal, non-conforming to zoning (Grandfathered)" it may affect the property's eligibility with VA due to zoning issues because if it burns down it could only be rebuilt to a SFH.

You absolutely need to know the local rules and how they affect your strategy.

After the purchase, I'm thinking a transition could be made to a traditional 80/20 LTV Mortgage then rinse/repeat for the next property.Now, I can see the negative aspects of this in that a bad RE deal could really hurt my current investments.

As it will be about a year before I am ready to make any real moves into investing, I'll be taking the time to consider many different investment strategies to see what works best for me.Currently the best fit for my situation seems to be to buy a duplex or triplex, live in one unit while I rent out the others, until I am able to purchase a second property and repeat the process.