(i) has not attained the age of 19 as of the close of the calendar year in which the taxable year of the taxpayer begins, or(ii) is a student who has not attained the age of 24 as of the close of such calendar year.Here, in black and white, the law specifies that the determination is made as of December 31st and applies to the entire year.

If you are willing to entertain areas outside Gainesville, you should look into areas like South Fulton, Forest Park ( lots of lower priced inventory) Jonesboro, and College Park to name a few.

From my understanding, it might be more advantageous to refinance as a rental property at a lower LTV with income from two units, rather than as owner-occupied at a higher LTV with only one rental income considered.

Most listings have 2.5-3% allocated to the buyers agent already written into the listing agreement but you could write into the offer something lower, adjust the offer price lower accordingly and then pay your agent directly instead. 

For investors, the current market presents a mixed bag: while short-term rental income may be lower, Miami remains a strong market for long-term growth as affordability attracts more tenants.What’s your take on Miami’s rental market?

If you are borrowing $150k, rates will not likely drop enough for you to justify a refinance due to lower rates.

I think you'll be hard pressed to get an ARV of $140k IMO...I'd expect something around $115k or lower.

I'm also considering Halethorpe because it's a good commuter location.Some people really like supporting the city in which case , northeast Baltimore would seem to the best place to buy a single family, in my opinion given the taxes situation and given that none of those areas are walkable I’d rather just be in the county and pay Lower taxes, and it’s not like northeast Baltimore is much that much cheaper than Baltimore county, hathorpe is mixed, arbutus is nice, I hate the housing stock there, would rather be in Catonsville if I was considering western Baltimore county. 

Is the higher price agent inflating to get the listing or is the lower price agent just not keyed in well enough in the specific neighborhood?

Although the list may seem intensive, I look at it like this: The total cost of all these items can be much lower than the cost to repair a hidden surprise after purchasing a property to flip.