Main objectives should be (1) tactful approach with the tenant, (2) know the legal documentation at your disposal (i.e. 30-day notice of non renewal, 10-day notice to quit, etc.), and (3) know how the legal process works to have the tenant formally evicted should the first 2 things not work.

Most will do it without thinking twice and you'll have a price from an objective source.

If Cashflow is your main objective, then you should consider the outskirts of Raleigh ( Garner, Clayton ) or even Durham county.

I think that the end buyer will want to see an accurate ARV and the scope of work that you have budgeted for, to ensure it was done correctly (or to their business objectives) 

I never want to build a huge real estate empire, as a part-time agent the OP probably doesn't have this objective either.

Ultimately, you must determine your objectives, create a plan that aligns with them, and stick to it.

Practically speaking you (Buyer) get a copy of the report and should be able to generally rely on it, since it should be an "objective" assessment of the property's value, but again, in this case, the Appraiser may not even be licensed.But, I'd imagine all the parties still have a responsibility of disclosure, including whether they knowingly sold you the condo for more than it's worth.

They compare objective facts (square feet, # of beds/baths, etc.), but they can't evaluate subjective facts like the view across the street, the cars sitting in the parking lot, the size of each bedroom, etc.If you get a lot of showings but no applications, then it's clear the price isn't right for what you are offering.

With that said- Since you're objective is to scale, it is possible to scale through purchasing lots of cheap assets with lower returns per asset, but in my opinion, this should only be done if there's evidence that the cheap assets are in a location where you can identify plans for growth in/around the targets for your property acquisitions  

If they are gamers, they'll bring their own equipment with them, which is pretty common.