You will need a lawyer.You will need an appraisal.You will need a home inspection.You will need title insurance.You will need a contract with the Seller.You will need some sort of partnership agreement if not a bog standard common law agreement as defined by your state.You will need a survey.You will need to heed the advice of the attorney in whether you need any other documents, and in what any document must provide for.You will need to have in your above documents what happens if you don’t like what is revealed or if there is a failure to get a document.The presence of a real estate agent is irrelevant to those things.Do NOT focus on saving the commission.

As others have mentioned, the common sources are Furnished Finder and Airbnb longer term stays.

In the end you are an investor and the deal has to make sense or why buy it. 

These are big enough to make financial sense but aren’t out of my price range while I continue to grow.

Secondly, keep hunting (don't let off the gas in running numbers on properties you like) and eventually you will come across some that financially make sense. 

Yes, very common in the early 2000's.

They might be more willing to bet on the deal you've found, especially if the numbers make sense.

The lowest option that is common is a 3.5% down FHA loan that is used for a primary residence.

Hmmm, power surge….my spider senses are tingling now… Clipping from the quote they later emailed meIt’s here where the fun starts….I’m going to summarize because this was a long back and forth…The sales guy hops on my mom’s phone.

That's why you have umbrella insurance.This doesn't make any sense.