But we bought at a price point where the mortgage was well within our ability to qualify for a SFH.That way, if we hated being landlords, we would end up with a house whose mortgage was in line with what we would spend anyways on housing. 

As Sean mentioned, it is so important to do the due-diligence, run the numbers, develop and use your network to assist in the process. 

I do not work right now and spend about 12 hours a day, 7 days per week, on learning about real estate investing with a current dream of being able to walk again someday, work,  and to contribute to my family again.I do not know why this happened but I will continue on. 

But I would spend some time and effort on marketing to find deals and not worry about w-2 because there is no way you are going to get an FHA loan anyway.

A friend has a mother that has gone to assisted living.

I've also met with a developer who said he looks to "double" on every deal  - meaning he is spending 200k for land/permits/materials/labor and targets a 400K sales priceIn my area, 4 units+ is the trigger point for all sorts of additional complicated planning reviews and requirements, curbs/gutters, traffic studies, environmental reviews, etc...       

So a math example would be: buy for $100,000, spend $20,000 fixing it up, sell for $150,000, pay taxes on $30,000.

Just spend your every available moment searching and turning over every stone to find a deal. 

I can usually find nice MFs in good areas (Merrillville, Portage, etc) at 12-15 caps, but i spend good money to find the deals.

(3)  Rehabbing and getting into flipping (my parents were contractors and I had a painting company in Buffalo - closed it to go back to the corporate world but have the time, interest, equipment, and know-how to do most if not all of the drywall / painting work on a flip)(4)  Being an assistant or intern for a house flipper (I'll work for free - teach me and let me see the process from the inside!)