Have a few properties I'm going to visit next week and will hopefully put in a few offers.

Good luck on the investigation,, as far as running any type of drainage.. we were cautioned at our property when we put the sump pump discharge hose to the front yard so water would drain into street and go down into the sewer grate.. we were told by city we couldn't do that and they suggested we put in a underground tank reservoir type thing.. basically all we did then was move the discharge hose to further point in back yard.. it was a flip house so we only had one season to deal with the issue.So don't do all the digging work and then find out you can't revert the water to the street and have to yank it all out.. if you do a drain tile type thing to edge of front property line.. water is funny you want to control where it goes but it has a mind of its own sometimes. 

Another thing you should consider is. to get your financing settled, if necessary, and get a loan letter that states the average time to close a loan and the maximum amount of a loan that you  qualified for.Another pretty important thing to consider is an office location that is convenient and has minimal distractions.  

I'd prefer not to buy it and then have to sell it very quickly so would like to better understand the way it works as a homestead that later becomes a rental should i be put in that situation.

My thought was an equity split according to how much actual cash we each put in, but then me having a much greater share of the cash flow because I am the more active manager in the project.

Your office location could be in your living space if you can close it off and have minimal distractions that are mostly personal.Always remember to do the math analysis and try to look at it at least have a clause in the purchase contract (about 10 to 15 days) that gives you the right to make a detail inspection and possibly back out of the subject deal without a penalty that will hurt you too much.  

So question,, I'm thinking of giving my insurance company a heads up.. or should I wait..My tenant broke his leg needed surgery and plate put in...

2) If they do put in an Earnest Deposit- who handles the escrow account?

It was put in the tax assessor site with the wrong street name, but I found it using the legal description and an alternate searching method. 

Use that to put in offers and then once you get an offer accepted pay an inspector to come out during your inspection period.