I avoided a property for having a furnace in the living room, so I don't have great advice other than bringing in a professional and getting a couple of quotes and suggestions for removing it/ coming up with an alternative. 

Being open minded to alternative ways to utilize RE is good business.

If the highway is the choice they will put it back on the market and not lose a seconds sleep.

Since this is a real estate investing forum, I'm not sure many would agree with investing 22% into a 401k, but that is a personal choice. 

Section 8 goes up every year on what they will pay.This is based on my experience in my area, you r mileage may vary.I would get a copy of the new rules and read them thoroughly to know what you are expected to do and where you have the ability to make choices.

@Natalie Wells@Colin M.Of course, if you take a distribution from your retirement account you will have to pay the taxes and (likely) penalties.There are possible alternatives which would allow to you use these funds without paying taxes or penalties.First, you may wish to consider transferring the funds to a self-directed 401k or IRA which will allow you to invest in real estate without incurring taxes or penalties.

are there suggestions to alternative lenders that are more favorable to investment?

I got a decent rate from one of the online brokers, and I will be putting down a 10% down payment by choice. 

Good deals aren't obviously easy to find.I'm trying to decide if I should :a) just be patient in my chosen market and wait for the right BRRRR deal even if it takes monthsb) also look for a small MFR (my #2 strategy choice) so I can start investing while waiting for the right BRRRR dealc) expand my market into a 2nd location (I'm out of state and like my initial market as it's backed by good metrics and I have family in the area which can help mitigate some of the risks of out of state investing).I'm leaning towards looking for a duplex as it won't prevent me from buying a good BRRRR.

You would invest in this asset class because you believe you can do the most effective job of growing your tax-sheltered retirement savings in real estate as compared to other investment choices (or in addition to other choices).