The main reasons I do not like is the involvement of a HOA and many of them are built like well-fished apartments. 

My question is how do I involve my family in the deal for an owner occupied purchase?

This way you'll get an idea of how involved the owner is. 

You mentioned the Cromford report and city-data.com which are good information for current or past data, but if you're trying to forecast into the future, you need to get involved with the data of where things are going to be developing in the future.

@Tim Ryan I own and manage 75 units with a partner, no property management firm involved.

There's a few exceptions but they typically involve a job move etc but you won't qualify based on intent. 

Here is a list of lenders offering such financing:https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/2810/50272-list-of-non-recourse-lenders-for-self-directged-ira-and-401kYour IRA can not sell property to you nor can you be involved in any other transaction with your IRA.

Fixing stuff that breaks isn't even among the top three most time-consuming things a self-managing landlord has to deal with.

@Kevin Zhang It depends on your goals and how involved you want to be. 

Currently I am an active real estate investor and developer (single family and large scale senior housing) but I am looking to get involved in mobile home parks.