After some negotiation our offer of $163k was accepted.

So, do you put it under contract at the ask price or most aggressive offer, then see if the deal holds up, or build your model, offer on that (likely get rejected, countered, etc.) and keep going until someone accepts?

I've read a few articles describing the benefit of using a 3rd party like "cozy.com" to collect rents from tenants...one benefit being my routing and account number aren't given to tenants for direct deposit which can evidently lead to issues down the road...however, the main benefit being that a tenant can stall an eviction by direct depositing a portion of the rent owed into my account, thereby, nullifying the eviction process and having to start over since I "accepted" partial payment. 

So what's the best way to handle this...do you bring a bunch of Cashier's Checks made out to different amounts or once your bid is accepted do you go to the nearest  bank for a check in the specific amount?

Walk score matters a lot, too.As a huge car tuner guy, I've learned to accept this & find this to be mutually beneficial for all.

I did so, and they accepted.

Isthat generally legal and acceptable?

It's a little strange but these days commercial financing can sometimes be more cost effective than what an owner would do unless they're willing to accept a really low interest rate.The situation I see a lot recently is a retiring baby boomer with plenty of equity.

The owners had open houses scheduled on the upcoming Saturday and Sunday and accepted our offer on the Saturday night and cancelled their open house for the following day.

I don't have direct experience with Clayton Morris of Morris Invest, nor his wife Natali, but I have followed them for years as broadcasters and technology pundits.They have both been featured guests on This Week in Tech (TWIT) for years, and both held various jobs in the mainstream tech media before starting to build platforms of their own.I was bemused when two of my usually separate spheres of interest (tech and real estate) seemed to converge, as Clayton and Natali started pivoting from tech to real estate.They are thoughtful, entrepreneurial folks, and good at building awareness and interest.