Essentially the houses in my area are "too cheap" but if I spend more on a "nicer" house in the 65-85k range, there is no money to be made.

Essentially you get paid as fast as your buyer can close.Just my two cents.Good luck!

Debt is the cheapest money you can get—you are essentially saying that you want to remove someone that is willing to give you money at 4% interest (your lender) and replace them with someone wanting 10% to 14% (investors).  

Can someone with experience explain the paperwork process when an attorney is involved in the claim.

They will be going to the properties reaching out to contractors, networking, essentially doing all of the leg work.

Essentially you have to prove to the loan underwriters that you will be able to occupy the home within 60 or so days or they won't approve the loan.

This is essentially an interview.

What concern should I have about renting out a SFR home essentially as a duplex?

The draw back to these loans is that they are more paperwork heavy than the other "portfolio" types of loans....but if you have ever received a loan on your primary home, it's likely that you will go through the same type of paperwork here with conventional lending.

If so I would do 1 schedule E and you'll essentially treat it like 6 units.