If you wait until filing season to hire a CPA, it is too late to do effective tax planning or to develop an effective tax avoidance strategy.

Ideally you've of already visited the areas you're targeting so you have a sense of the vibe of who's renting, what they need/want, where they go, where they work.Now let's pretend everything went smooth, you're either going to work with realtor to get it rented or a PM.

Ideally, I would want to use the money to invest in real estate, but My investment options are more limited than if I had a self-directed IRA.I do not want to invest in stocks.  

The owner didn't develop this because it would have pushed the property into the commercial realm at 5+ units and he wanted the next owner to have the flexibility to decide this.

I could also develop a partnership with a builder.

I would use this as a situation to develop a policy for future occurrences.

I would say bad to develop a personal relationship, but it's good for business for them to have a good relationship with you, and trust you.

Interested in duplexes, 3s or 4s in my area, in a way I can use BRRRR to develop cash flow, and acquire 10-20 properties over the next 3-5 years. 

The yields are very good and the market still has potential to develop. 

Every renter has to start somewhere, and most people will have something on their history or situation that isn't ideal, but that's part of the game.The felony is the only "real" issue I see, however I've had dozens of houses with dogs (of all sizes and breeds), and very often those backyards got thrashed.