We negotiated the price down a bit from $350k to $340k and the construction company is committed to pay 2% of seller's paid costs as incentives if I use their preferred lender.

Your accountant might have a preference.2.

-If you're an investor how do you prefer to be approached by a new wholesaler? 

I do have experience with significant home renovation but for a personal residence, based on my experience with this I would prefer to buy a property built after 1970 if possible but not sure if that's realistic, the only deals I could seem to find from the MLS are very old houses which I know often brings more challenges with the renovation.Would appreciate any references or suggestions anyone has, so far I've only invested in rental properties that were already in good condition bought with a loan.

Would prefer somewhere within driving distance, which I think is doable.

The truth is, if you can execute, BRRRR can work in all of those cities so it's a matter of preference - whether you prioritize cash flow or appreciation, price range, if you know anyone, school zones, etc.

Why both of them and do you prefer one over the other? 

I prefer a single basin from a maintenance perspective and typically always use this in rentals.  

I’d prefer to avoid double-paying for insurance if possible.Additional Note: This property will be used as a short-term rental, which adds to the complexity.Any advice on how to structure the insurance to cover all bases without redundant costs would be greatly appreciated!

If your goal is to get the info asap for small multis, I would go with something where it's already skip traced so you can direct market or call for that investor's preference.