For the furnishing, it was because the previous tenant we were helping support as she got out of an abusive relationship and a crisis pregnancy.

Also, I would check reviews and previous sales experience. 

They have a lawsuit pending in federal court with a document storage company as well who claims they are owed $40k plus.

I was previously in construction equipment rentals and did real estate on the side.

Pensacola has a lot of potential, and I’ve seen investors do really well in the area with both long-term and short-term rentals.Since you’re just getting started, here are a few tips that might help:Know Your Market: Pensacola’s mix of military families, college students, and tourists means there’s a steady demand for rentals.

I have used the rekeyable kwiksets previously and have had good luck with them.

Multifamily doesn't need any more pressure/demand since cap rates can really get low when too many people pile in, but I have to say that commercial real estate (including large MF) and other types of passive investing (mobile home parks, storage, etc.) can really make like much easier.

How do I research or find sales comps from previous years, for example 2017-2018?

I intend to rent out the units by room to college students (does it sound like this would work in this area and what are some general tips/things I should look out for?).

Given your previous career, your goals, and wanting to diversify your investments, I'm wondering if you might find value in the PassivePockets community, it's a community with private forum dedicated to passive investing in syndications.