I have at least 4 couples who (at least in pre-screening) score almost identically high.

Again assuming for simplicity that each of your duplexes were identical and sold for the same amount say 200K then you would take 100K as the primary residence exemption and 1031 the other 100K  If you want to combine it with your partner then you would buy a property or properties worth at least $200K (your 100 and his 100).  

Yet the pay stubs they all provided were all not only identical, but looked so simple they could have been made in an Excel spreadsheet in 5 minutes, no joke...I was suspicious at the time, but decided to run their SSN's for the background check...except their SSN's were invalid.

An actual copy of the deed/deed of trust was pulled and it reflects two names, one of which is identical to his.

In fact OP you may have spoken to me 3 months ago (I wouldn't remember), and I would have told you in advance about how this sort of thing can happen, so you "shop around," find someone else offering exactly what I offered, from the exact same very small pool of lenders, identical rates/fees (+/- rate movement over time), they don't include all the caveats/warnings that I did, so you think it's more reliable or whatever, fast forward 2 months, and boom here you are making this thread (incidentally, this means my "incentive" is to just drop all the warnings and caveats, and then act all surprised when exactly what happened to you happens, like I didn't know it was a possibility from the get-go). 

If you get your 5 bed 3000 sqft property for 385k and someone got an identical property for 320k they will (most likely) beat you in cash flow.

Financed properties are depreciated identical to cash properties.Myth 2: depreciation is a freebieFreebie is something you never have to pay for.

I would really like to avoid "Identity theft" or any other "who knows what". 

There are sooo many factors that make one strategy more efficient than others.Plans for the home (minor touches, "to the studs", make it glamorous), condition of the home, its price in comparison to comps in the area, credit score, personal goals and fears (big factor), plans for children such as college, terms of the sale, trust in your inspector and your team, your workload, your current medical health, your stress tolerance, tax benefits, your family's stress tolerance, area's growth, your trust in the seller's disclosure, offers on the table, current interest rates...you get the idea.2) One of the most beautiful formulas (besides Euler's Identity) is:Interest = P (Principal) x R( Annual Rate %) x N (Time Period).

Here is what I know so far.Duplex asking price is $335K...identical one next door owned by same owner just recently closed for the same and appraised fine.Rented at $1935 monthly total, rents are low and have room to go up.Listed with an agent.