It does say exterior walls can be included (not sure why they wouldn't be)As for the exterior finishes it says 50% must be brick or natural stone.  

Background is in dealership management, nationally recognized, so I'm great at closing/negotiating, numbers, and navigating a deal, and I'm naturally more transactional inclined. 

They have more skin in the game then you do.Make sure you get clear title.

And really, that's what I've done, going from being a teacher to being a handyman with C/D class properties, my natural niche.What I would do if I were you would be to find the cheapest possible place to live (including small multifamily househacking, house roommate, and Airbnb possibilities) near enough to my job to bike there and back or take public transportation.

With the cyclical nature of real estate, I personally like homes that fall into the first time home buyer price point.

They have more skin in the game then you do.Make sure you get clear title.

Generally, investors want their deal sponsors to have some skin in the game financially.What you've described seems more like a hard money loan type of situation, which is going to cost a bit more than equity investment. 

LTV - I’m indifferent on having equity, however, if I would of originated the note I would of looked to have at least a few thousand dollars as a DP for the homeowner to have some skin in the gameRate - 8 - 12%Term - Longer than 15 years and at time of acquisition no more than half of the way throughAs-is Value - greater than 50kMortgage PMT - greater than $400/monthLocation - In a populated city of 20,000 people or greater along with strong economics. 

They have more skin in the game then you do.Make sure you get clear title.

In addition the borrower must have unrestricted access without penalty to the accounts; and if the assets are in the form of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, 70% of the value (remaining after any applicable costs for the subject transaction) must be used to determine the number of distributions remaining to account for the volatile nature of these assets