I was lucky to be married to a great woman who has been able to support me and our daughter (who is now in college) and has been saving money for about 25 years.We live in a home that has been mortgage-free for about 20 years and has increased in value about 21/2 times what we paid for it in 1984.  

There are no anti-flipping rules for USDA other than the lender should ensure the appraisal is strongly supported by validated comps in the area.

I have a whole legal argument about why this precedent doesn't apply, with supporting case history, but of course no judge--even the ones who don't follow the statutes themselves when ruling (happens a lot)--want a lesson or lecture in law from a layman like me.

If the property can support the debt easily I would go that route.  5 year balloons sneak up on you quicker than you think.

Thank you all again for your advice and support. 

Hey Maliko, Unfortunately, I can't offer you any guidance from an experience standpoint, but I can offer you extreme value from a support standpoint.Myself and a few other young (18-19) year old investors have started a small networking group in order to answer these questions and support each other at this crucial time in our REI careers.We aim to make sure all of us stay on track and are committed to engineering and creating the future we want. 

This is _the_ top networking event every Wed in Atlanta since everyone is supporting themselves off real estate.  

It might be there isn't an answer supported by academic research, but I'm gonna keep looking. 

We are doing everything we can, but ours is only one voice and strongly needs the support of others.Wondering what to say to the legislators?

Many of such I frequent and support whole heartidly.