I hope to be able to make the same kind of post someday down the road!  

The doctor's signed form that was provided to me was very vague - "Please allow companion pet".The doctor's note didn't identify or outline a condition for which the companion dog is a treatment or therapy, like stress or anxiety or grief?  

Neighbors didn't seem to know much about this place which is at the very end of a private road.

To date (in only a year and a half of being in business), I have worked from home in Venice Beach (a block from the ocean), in Nicaraguan hostels between ziplining, surfing, and volcano boarding adventures as well as from high-end Nicaraguan hotels while drinking wine or margaritas (yes, while I work), throughout countries in Europe between sight-seeing, outdoor adventures and on airplanes to and from, in Colorado from a mountain house I holed myself up in for 2 weeks during an amazing snowstorm (and between snowboarding excursions), from Atlanta hanging out with my parents and friends for as long as I want to (weeks), and I've even worked on cross-country road trips.I wanted a 'job' that was this flexible for a few reasons.

It's a tough scenario to choose as your first deal, so I would not proceed with a purchase unless you partner with an experienced investor or if you have an experienced mentor that walks you through the due diligence.But even if this doesn't close, it will be a great learning opportunity that will pay dividends down the road.  

The question is I am leaving back to school 4 months down the road and no longer live in the state that the property is in, could I rent out where I was living previously or will that mess with the terms of the FHA loan?

In my local area of Haverhill, MA, i been looking into an eyesore of the community that is just off a main road.

There are so many different roads you can take in real estate investing that there isnt just one answer to your question but the closest generic answer I can think of is the following...  

@Michael Lauther - I'm not the most veteran of investors, and I don't know what the cost is to replace it all and do it well vs. just repairing, but I do know one thing from simply personal experience...you don't want to mess with water, as a shortcut could end up costing you a TON more money down the road if the repair doesn't hold up.

The radiator in the kitchen has a fine brown dust/powder next to it on one side that GC could not identify.