Obviously you haven’t been there so you‘ll need to inspect in order to back up your numbers, which serves the dual purpose of a) intensifying the quality of leads — interested sellers will invite you over to see how the numbers hold up, hoping you’ll up your offer (you’ll have some headroom if everything is in the zone); and b) auto-disqualifying non-leads — uninterested owners will not believe the price is worth it and either ignore you or call to complain.Calls go from many to few, cold to either warm or hot.

Other option is find a partner who will contribute the cash and you can use dual incomes to qualify for the mortgage.  

I was more under the impression I'd want to not be tied to any individual agent so I can try to leverage the selling agent (so the selling agent would get dual commession).

This thing that jobless number go up and people will be forced to sell is proven to be wrong too, otherwise home price in bay area would go down a lot by now.Reason: typical household has dual income , one layoff the other can cover; and then even if they have to sell, the rent would be there anyway.

Here's what we (think we) are interested in: Long term rentals for single-family or dual-family homes, buy and hold (i.e., cashflow vs. equity/growth), lower risk (we're okay with slower progress for now), ultimately want to partner with property managers so we can be more hands off. 

Personally, I'm biased but I think what is missing are the dual employment flippers.

This is also an area that features larger lots (for in the city) that will easily sub-divide and allow for dual development.   

That said there's a device called a Emon Demon and it's basically a Device you install between the main panel and the tenants sub panels that shows you what each electrical sub panel is drawing in terms of voltage and amp hours, I believe they even make some that will send you a email so you know who's using what power and itemize it on a spreadsheet, you can use that for billing purposes.

But we do things differently here in the US where dual-agency is even illegal in some states.

My desire was to find out if it was time to sell, (for a 1031,) as the suburban town in which it is located has been seeing offers above asking for a while, and I received an unsolicited offer from a local investor who’s worked on the property.The email exchange left me wondering whether I’d be properly represented by HW as a seller, or they’d likely be acting as a dual broker (and, judging by the price James was suggesting: perhaps - also - a wholesaler.)