The owner was motivated due to personal circumstances and wanted to avoid the hassle of listing the property publicly.

Avoid PMI and then go to a local credit union and get a heloc after closing to gift the money back.Have this as a tool in your tool belt but pursue use of the 3.5% FHA, knowing that you will be at a competitive disadvantage if you are competing with non FHA buyers, then you can call in the favor from your gift person.Just know that if someone gifts you down payment money, your bank will require them to sign a letter stating that it is in fact a gift that doesn’t need to be paid back.

There's no problems living next to your tenants, just tell them your the manager NOT the owner to avoid guilt tripping.You have to analyze the deal 1) while you're living there 2) when you move out.

You can hear real-world examples of how others have built their investment portfolio and (hopefully) learn to avoid their mistakes.4.

The owner was motivated due to personal circumstances and wanted to avoid the hassle of listing the property publicly.To negotiate the deal, I started by understanding the seller’s priorities.

20+ yrs. ago we avoided Section 8, primarily due to the disparity in rents from private that Section 8 Housing rents appeared to be nearly 20% less than private rents. 

But mostly, it is unnecessary. 

Cash out $100K every day for the next ten days to avoid moving the market.

Your other questions are better suited for an attorney to avoid misinformation.

For example, using 70-80% leverage could preserve your cash for more deals while maintaining strong returns.A blended approach might work: pay cash for smaller deals to avoid delays and borrow on more significant properties to spread risk.