I was pretty much the same situation as you are in, except i did not think quick enough about the additional pre-close negotiations mentioned above.In my case time after closing i dove in to set expectations and address/remediate all concerns from the previous landlord, and since then i haven't had any troubles.Thank you for the post!

One effective list used for this would be Renters, age 26-50, a good income for your area and high Financial Stability Score.

Due to the crushing effects of the Dodd Frank Act and horrendous over-regulation that crippled America's mortgage industry, many Mortgage Lenders and most Private Lenders won't touch Primary or 2nd Home financing with a 30 ft pole anymore!

Google his name and address to get the contact phone number as BP disallows such information.

I don’t remember the addresses, but one was a 100 year old duplex with major structural issues surrounding a central stairwell and the other was a 1950’s build with a block wall tuck under garage that was beginning to shift, causing issues throughout the house.

This is way more effective than trying to memorize the entire book on your own (note: the state administers the test so the instructor won't know exactly what's on the test, but I'd say he was pretty accurate in pointing out what was eventually on it. 

Regardless, I want to address your last  few lines.

It takes some financial investment, but mail campaigns have been an effective tool to contact people who own property you would want, who share the characteristics of motivated sellers.

Both rented and positive cash flow.Subject Property:  Traditional detached SF property in NJPurchase amt 410k10% down (don't have funds to do 20% unfortunately)While I am confident in my mtge guy, for prudent measure I wanted to check w/ the BP community to confirm the following..Freddie:  'My income is too high' (Can certainly give figures, but not sure how to break it down.. 2017 salary + bonus; Rental income, 2018 salary formally approved and documented, but not effective until July; and 2018 bonus (which I have received already)FNMA:  'To get a second FNMA mtge, I need to put down 20%' (which I would like to do, but cannot come up with an extra 41k)FHA:  'My only option' (with the 1.75% upfront PMI and monthly PMI for life of the loan). 

I definitely needed more experience with the overall construction process and help to manage job sites effectively.2.