If you Dad stays on the title as an owner he will need to sign loan docs etc, i would rather keep it simple too, but its not a big deal to have your Dad involved if you have good understanding with him.

My wife and I plan on staying in Europe for a few more years but we are looking into purchasing a 2-8 multifamily unit either in TN or NC around the large Army bases where we have previously lived and know the area. 

My idea is to take out an FHA loan on the property and "live" in one unit, as in have my mail and whatnot set for that address, but still stay at my parents.

Generally I think 2brs are better because the tenants stay longer.

Instruct the tenant to stay out of the water until emergency services can visit the house and ensure the power is off in the flooded areas. 

Some of the very best and most experienced property managers can even tell you some of the history of certain properties and what pockets you should look at and which you should stay away from within that certain submarket. 

Here' how I would do it with $100K using a BRRRR Strategybuy a 4 Plex for we will say 250K / 20% down = $50K DPPut $20K into renovations, it helps if you can do some or most of the work yourself (Sweat Equity) Rent out three of the units and house hack by staying in the 4th unit so essentially you would have $0 living expenses if done properly.Get the property appraised after making the renos, we will say it gets reappraised at 325K.Refinance for 75% of the new appraised value (325K*0.75)= $243,750KPay back the original mortgage of $200K You end up spending $50K DP + $20K Renos = $70k to get the property and you'd get back $243,750K - $200K (original mortgage) tax free back plus $81,250 in equity in the home that is tax free as well since you'd be getting refinanced at 75% of the total mortgage you'd receive the remaining 25% equity in the newly appraised value of the home ($325K *0.25) = $81,250 in Equity plus $43,750 in cash. 

I prefer to stay in Oregon, Washington, or Idaho.

You'd stay in the middle, collecting payments from the investor while making payments on that underlying loan.

My realtor just reached out to let me know he has a client building a house that needs a place to stay for 6 months.