The second recommendation would be to do a house flip with a special and your able to move there and be a "house hacker" and take advantage of the lower down payment.The only other way away from home is to buy an apartment complex that had a minimum of 30 units so that project could afford property management company from that local area, they need to be experienced and understand what you expect in reporting and current operation with phone talking. 

The key is truly understanding your market.  

thanks I advance for helping understand my options.

I have no problem helping him with any of  his properties  even helping him clean out any units if he need help with . ( just cause I want to learn more about real estate and how to invest in it And I understand that sometimes you have to give for you to get) I was thinking about approaching him. 

When upgrading, we'll usually go with low flow toilets, lower end Delta brand faucets and paint colors that have a broad appeal.

From the research that I've done (mind you, I'm still pretty new - so I understand my research may be a fantasy land!)

I have immersed myself heavily in studying real estate investing and understanding how to properly evaluate deals.

Am I understanding correctly that we’ll owe ordinary income tax, but since we’re living in the property, we -won’t- owe self-employment taxes?

I just want to understand realistic comparison of reg sale vs reasonable and maybe more attractive seller financing structuring taking into account future short/intermediate term interest rate trends and Time value of money (that I am a fan of learning more).As a side note, being a health care professional I am amazed and always puzzled by financing and real estate.

Understand your numbers well.