At the same time, I feel like I could really put that money to use, and help ensure a better retirement.

If you are owner occupying a four unit or less property you are exempt from the federal fair housing acts.

Agents undergo thorough training to ensure they understand the unique needs of USAA members. 

If they specifically need to cash-out to buy another home than seller financing is often DOA.As mentioned, if the have a balance on their underlying mortage- If they want to pay it off it might require a big downpayment- It is possible to leave it in place with a Wrap but that is an advanced strategy and while fairly low risk, the due on sales clause is a concern.On interest rate, my experience is that a seller finance buyer usually has to pay a few points above the going interest rate for conventional/FHA lending so probably closer to 7% these days although it never hurts to ask for lower...All of this is theoretical so the advice to chat with seller to get more information is the right next step.Jeff

In 2013 I refinanced the TX property to a 15 year mortgage and put a 32k down to make the ensure cash flow. 

When you're confident that you can estimate cost fairly accurately and quickly, do the homework and run the numbers FIRST, then make an offer.

Unless you are part of a pep squad, you're not responsible for ensuring sales people are motivated. 

Found something on google saying the fair market rent for my 3 bedroom in Lawrence, Indiana would be $932..

With giving ownership rights to my residents, I'm able to charge $500 to $600 more than fair market rents and I don't have any of the landlord headaches.

I'm curious as to what the best strategies are for identifying potential properties, how to approach the homeowners (letter, door to door, a written offer, etc) and how to write a fair and solid price (I'm thinking full price offer based on comps minus 6% because of no commission but throwing in some cash or creditiing closing costs to the seller to sweeten the deal a little bit.