I'm getting the feeling a lot of individuals start by buying a property as their own residence and expanding from there.  

I know and have met quite a few awesome individuals via LinkedIn.

Then you could rent one unit out to two individuals, live in one, and rent the other bedroom to a friend.If you can structure a deal correctly you should be able to clear most if not all of your mortgage a month, so you would be living rent free and other people would be paying down your principal!

Some will be individual specific like my having two employment income sources.

Individuals remain at 10/15 - but since she's so busy now sounds like she may free up after Monday.  

The house meter is for consumption not specific to the individual units...such as exterior lights, power to the washer and dryer, sprinkler system, outside hosebib etc...If existing water lines are behind walls, under slab, it is going to be impossible.Also, if you separate electric but not water, and your water heater is electric, make sure you are not supplying hot water to unit B on a branch of a line powered by unit A's electric.

It DOES NOT mean you can't do it, it just means there are now special provisions, both those specified by Dodd-Frank and those left to individual states to figure out. 

I found some good deals with absentees' but personally, I would rather negotiate with banks instead of individuals - it takes the emotion out it.

I joined Bigger Pockets because I feel there is a lot of great information here for someone who is new to real estate investing, like me, and it is a great place to network with other like-minded individuals.

My biggest worry with a Section 8 housemate is that the individuals reason for needing assistance would be something that would make them a challenging neighbor, and you are not allowed to ask if a prospective tenant has a mental illness.