I recommend talking to a few commercial lenders in your area that you'd like to work with (prioritize the smaller banks, you'll get better service) and ask them in advance what their criteria is for debt service coverage ratio and the percentages they use in their underwriting for vacancy, reserves, management, etc and how much flexibility there is in those numbers.

People prefer gas over electric for safety and cost reason.

You can do so with relative safety if you invest intelligently.It may seem like demanding criteria, but I will not get into a deal to lose moneyHigh cash returns do not necessarily mean you won't lose money or will have a lower risk.

I have student loans that I'm prioritizing paying down but after reading through some posts in this forum I've decided to simultaneously save up enough money for a down payment to do my first house hack next year.

FHA needs the house in working order with no health and safety repairs - The question is, are you paying for the appraisal and did yo get your offer price?   

If there was a gas leak in your unit and the landlord, for health and safety reasons needed immediate access to your unit, they should have a means of entry.  

I verified the garage door safety sensors work just fine and the last tenant of 2 years never had any issues.

Some background on my personal finances I contribute the maximum amount that my employer matches on my 401kI am making contributions to a taxable investment account with a 40/60 allocation as a safety net.

I am not worried about safety - the box is much harder to open than it would be to break the lock on the door.

While you intend on being here for the summer, that just a) means there is more for you to enjoy when you are here, and b) it is a good safety net if you don't end up being able to spend as much time as you hoped for.