I’ve heard different things like taking a Fannie Mae loan out then converting it to a LLC and the likelihood of triggering a due on sale clause is minimal.

Board games can be worth it, but I'd keep it minimal - maybe 2-3 family-friendly classics.

Figuring the seller was milking the property and doing minimal upkeep, the inspection team report has so far already helped me bring the seller down several 100K in asking price.

Also, I'm stuck with out-of-state investing which brings a whole series of risks with minimized financial upside (in my opinion) 

Affordable markets in growth regions, like the Midwest or Southeast, provide excellent opportunities for ROI while minimizing upfront investment.

Age: I think it will but you can minimize it by being knowledgeable, professional, confident, and fair.  

If it would help to get a more detailed estimate feel free to reach out.Documentation is rather limited, just ID, bank statement, LLC documents to start.Sometimes there are interest-only options at 30 and 40 years, generally the difference in payment fully amortized over I/O is minimal so it may not be worth it.

While doing all these things minimize your expenses and save as much of your income as you can.

Note I strive to minimize cash flow because it gets taxed versus other RE return are easy to defer or avoid the taxes.  

Combining these two minimizes the impact of financing on your Net revenue.