An agent can have their MLS access revoked and possible action taken against their license for screwing around with this. 

That may also help put your mind at ease or alert you to a possible issue. 

Negotiate "transferrable purchase agreement" with homeowner, price at that 60%+/- ARV number; contract for long escrow (90 days to 6 months, as possible)3.

Real estate can be emotional and you want to make sure you keep emotions out as much as possible so you can think clearly about your options.

Overall it is possible but every lender is different.

The house across the street from us sold at $1365/sqft (bananas), which means, if I were to do the math, we could possibly sell our home today for $1.8M... if we wait another few years, it seems like over $2M is a strong likelihood for a sale price.

You’re going to face the maximum taxes possible.

So if youre planning on buying close to downtown, I would buy as close to downtown as possible, especially now because it is a buyers market.

The reason is that essentially you are property searching for two different jobs, one for investment properties that most clients wouldn't be interested in or investment properties that could possibly work for me.The con would be that I always give my clients first dibs, so if I come across a property, I do not want to lose their future business, so I send it to them first and then go from there.

Sure you can have the other 2 selections possibly but they might not be available when you jump out of the first selection.