After talking with a lender on what FHA had to say about it he said that FHA requires you to INTEND to live in the home for at least a year and that he wouldn't not inquire any penalties.

There is a great amount of wisdom, knowledge and experience that i have not inquired yet. 

Call different property management companies and inquire as a tenant would about the properties and terms of agreement.

I inquired to buy a 5 plex next one of my SFR. 

i called yellow letters and inquired about it too. the problem is that i have a full time job, hate to spend 30k (~$5k times 6 tries) with the hope of landing a deal. i think i am better off not talking to homeowners and leaving that difficult part to someone that's great at doing it.CL is a great suggestion, btw. last time i looked there were just dumpy detroit houses, nothing in farmington hills, westland, redford.

So multiple mortgage inquires onto a consumer's credit will not impact the score (within reason).  

As for the dual agency, haven't had 1 single agent mention they couldn't represent me when inquiring about making an offer on their listing.

I think what was meant was the bank was going to foreclosure but sold the note and the investor got the deed in lieu and inquired about selling to the tenant.

I am inquiring about the amount of equity the homeowner has in their property before the investor purchases.  

@Eran Greenburg There are a good amount of people here on BP from Rochester, NY, I am sure they will chime in and give their thoughts.In the future, be sure to include some keywords like I did above to draw people from the area you are inquiring about.