Could it be they stopped paying rent without justification and won't qualify for assistance? 

By only doing 20 year amortization they get the best long term loan (harder to qualify for).

First, my wife and I qualified for a loan up to 550K; however, we didn't have enough liquid cash for an investment property for a loan of 550K.  

You can deduct your mortgage interest, defer your capital gains indefinitely or even qualify for an exemption on capital gains altogether.

As I read IRS Publication 523 , I believe we qualify for a partial exclusion (not the full $500, 000 of tax exempt but at least for the time we were in the property): Work-Related Move You meet the requirements for a partial exclusion if any of the following events occurred during your time of owner- ship and residence in the home.

Rookie investor seeking advice: Owner occupied property, conventional loan, qualified for 3% DP, sounds like a great deal for starter home buyers with less cash, and allow for greater appreciation for house-hacking owners, but what are the catch 22?

I did a lot of research and I can make more than what I do at a corporate America job it just won’t be the same income each month, like a 9-5 job is.Taking this into consideration, do you think I’ll have less opportunity to qualify for loans since I’ll have a 1099 job instead of a w2?

Marketing I've done: Listed property w/ local property managers - they post on MLS and syndicates to Zillow, apts.com and craigslistI'm posting myself in off-campus forums and forwarding qualified applicants to property managers for showings April 15-30th (when I didn't have the property managers)8-10 showings mostly off Zillow/FB~3 Applications0 qualified renters/0 tenants bookedMay Stats:9 or 10 showings 4 applications1 tenant booked in unit #1There are 2 remaining units, unit 2 and 3, which were initially priced higher than unit #1 because they are slightly larger -- That said, I'm thinking that I reduce prices and take advantage of the higher demand in the coming months...Does this answer your question?

I'm a college student and therefore don't qualify for any traditional financing(which I believe eliminates the FHA loan program).

I am wondering if this will still qualify as a second home or investment property ?