I have a strong desire to help other people not live an ordinary life.

But I would strongly suggest you stay away from Gary "proper" for any kind of rentals.

I am also going to advise strongly against "waiting for the market to cool down."

@Christopher MurphyNo contingencies is already a pretty strong offer. 

Working with a strong lender/realtor team who can determine whether a property is appropriate for a VA loan, and then convince the listing agent of your qualifications, and that the loan will close smoothly and on time, is about all you can do.

Our bank advised that the best way to proceed with this would be by adding the other two members to the title after closing, and we also have a strong operating agreement outlining all the critical details of this deal. 

I saw one for the MH Space recently and saw that it was a 7+2+2......when I inquired about it they were very, very much hinting that they STRONGLY prefer the investors be in for the entire 11 years. 

(it seems to be keeping us sharp and strong too! 

You can start of strong and you should, but leave yourself wiggle room and understand that you may need to settle for now and come back in 6 months when you have more funds built up.  

There is a pretty-strong investor network in the Baltimore area.