New here and getting my feet wet in the learning stages of real estate investing. I’d like to get some recommendations from those more seasoned. We have around $200k in home equity and are about to begin the hunt for ...

However these are all local requirements so your best bet is check with city planning where you are. 

I would say it's generally far less likely to get a discount on an REO versus a borrower.

I would bet that you could compare their basic property data in every area in the county and the only differences you would find would would be due to data entry errors (and possible a technical error here and there).

I realized in order to make house hacking a possibility this would be my best bet to make the numbers work.

I realized in order to make house hacking a possibility this would be my best bet to make the numbers work.Buying a property from a wholesaler, rehabbing the property, and rent out some of the rooms.

Like I said single family is probably your best bet in your area.

Amber, if he is doing the inspection for his own property, I bet there is a work around. 

Best bet would be to discuss your ideas with your real estate attorney to understand how best to structure the deal. 

Typically, not always, the bid in the middle is your best bet, but again, this is generally speaking, not always.