It could be renting out the extra bedroom to a friend, etc.If you can't yet qualify for a loan, and let's say you are renting a home/apartment from someone, and you had an extra bedroom, you could ask your landlord if it'd be OKAY to rent out the extra bedroom to someone, while you live there as well.But if you could get someone to help you get a loan to begin with, I think living in a duplex or a home and renting out the other sides or bedrooms, would be a GREAT way to get started.For now, dig into all the awesome resources on this side and LEARN as much as possible!

I thought i would qualify, but it seems i need to find a self employment job.

Real estate investment is a different animal, that may require special accounting skills.

This is a commercial property so it doesn’t qualify as a Fannie Freddie non recourse deal...

I think the right answer is based on your personal preferences, goals, skills, abilities, and resources.

This property is owner-occupied which is how I qualified for the FHA loan. 

you will usually split a 50/50 equity deal for newbie investors but as you build your portfolio and experience you can start to weigh that more on your side. go to networking events and look for private money or if you qualify go with agency debt or some other loan product first

We got qualified stating it was based on renting our current place for at least $X per month with a minimum 1-year lease. 

BUT with him being new and potentially having the skill set to do other repairs in the future, I feel like this may be a good way to see his work ethic and talent to get jobs done in a professional manner, if that makes sense.

Remember that labor typically is the bulk of your cost especially when dealing with skilled trades.