The better your credit score and making sure the property is in an area that the lender thinks is in demand or at the very least is not declining or rural will help in potentially getting approved. 

Accountants are in such demand, that the best are not even accepting clients half the time.The other problem I see often with accountants on here is that they specialize in larger investors, and have really high prices when you as a smaller investor do not need all the bells and whistles.Another thing I see is folks thinking they need to have a tax professional in their state.

The seller needs my funds to pay cash for a smaller house and is asking for a 30 day lease-back.

That's a start to give you an idea of the market including the supply and the demand.

The Seller guarantees that the property will be clean and unoccupied within 14 days of the valid offer.

Do sellers have to be at closing via phone or webcam?

They don’t move in parallel… they are more “realiable” these days.I could guess in your situation is you fall into investment trap where your limited choice of investment may make you decide for sub optimal investment.but one tip if you decide to go into 40% down dscr 1 ; make sure your neighborhood appreciates higher than national average that way if market drops you know there is organic demand in your place.

currently I am renting to Montclair state students in Caldwell, student demand is for sure there but that will hugely depend on timing of the rental and proper marketing. 

Investor and Seller PreferencesSome investors and sellers prefer to not work with real estate agents due to bad experiences with them in the past.2.

You can always pretend to be a renter and pump the Seller for information.