Initially he was on board with this but he recently went and created an LLC by himself and wants to quit claim deed the rental property to his LLC and me (or my LLC when I form one).1. 

I was going to send letters initially to the owners based on public record mailing address, and then see if I can find phone numbers as well.

Several of my initial figures were off(I ended up with MORE cashflow than expected) which helped absorb the sting of the inspection process.One final note, I used the money obtained from the Refinance to fund 2 additional properties, both of which are BRRR strategy as well.

My initial thought is to not bid against myself and stay where I am at, but if I increase my bid to what I would be willing to pay, I have no regrets either way.  

This requires a baseline property condition at initial leading that is indisputable.  

To answer the initial question: can you flip when your credit is bad.  

I'd spend a little more money to attract a high quality tenant as I believe in the long run that initial investment will end up costing you less by NOT having to settle for someone who will tear up or destroy your property, evictions, etc.I'd definitely spend the coin if you plan on keeping it.  

If you want your rent before 1st - introduce an initiative - a discount when paid on or before 1st or initiative for auto pay

I got lucky and one of the people bidding against me initially contacted my real estate agent mid flip and we put it under contract.  

I [almost] never offer a land contract or seller financing because, in the event of a default, the seller will have to foreclose in our State vs. with an option, I can simply evict just like a rental.I have done a few low end contracts recently, however, with 40%-50% down [which usually covers the initial investment].