We weren't handy and we had full time jobs, but were eager to have a qualified pro - a licensed handyman or GC - get started. 

I think they have a local branch close by and they are aggressive with their requirements (meaning that they are fairly easy to qualify). 

@Tyler Smerz - If you can qualify for a conventional loan and can afford the extra 1.5% down payment, I'd recommend going that route over FHA so that you can save yourself some money on the Mortgage insurance cost.

im looking into other alternatives for purchasing as well as i currently do not qualify for conventional financing.

This also manifests on these very forums, the "I'm buying a house, but my loan is being jammed up by X, Y, and Z," threads, where X, Y, and Z, are things that only come up on purchase transactions (income/DTI issues, down payment sourcing, title issues, for example), not refinances ("if they qualified when they got the purchase mortgage and didn't get fired, they're qualified now because the rate/payment is lower, so no need to check income/DTI upfront," no down payments on refis so no need to verify funds / bank statements, no title changes on typical refis, no purchase contracts on refis, you get the idea). 

@Jillian Dior: I'm unsure I'm qualified to offer that kind of advice.

Using FHA/HomePossible/HomeReady (if you qualify) can get you into a duplex or triplex pretty cheap, then you and the business partner can look into purchasing another home.

If you had little to no debt (DTI: 5%-10%), currently renting, your initial REI goal was to fast track your way to be able to quit your 9-5 job with replacing it with positive cash flow, main goal was to acquire as many doors as you could, had 100k to start, and still had cash for reserves…Would you continue renting and or seek out a primary residence where you could house hack (keeping your DTI low, so that your able to still acquire rentals) or would you first acquire income producing rental properties and then use that income to eventually help you qualify for a primary residence?

You do have to qualify for a loan, unless you pay cash.

Not everyone can qualify for a conventional loan, and FHA loans are more lenient with borrower credit profiles.