I think storing your money somewhere safe that offers a return like a CD would be my personal choice because the difference between that rate and the interest saved is small and the money is there to use whenever or for whatever I need it for.

Im super well versed in the insurance side of things but not the investment property process -- i would love to connect with anyone who needs help with insurance and can help me start out too :)  Do you offer commercial insurance for STR in PA?

You should charge the market rent in the area you are in based on what you are offering.

Some common names you'll see thrown around a lot: Stessa, Apartments.com, RentRedi, TenantCloud, Innago, RentManager, Avail, Rentec Direct, Doorloop, etc.I recommend you search for each of those apps online and see what they offer, how much they charge, etc.

if not can someone give me insight on another way to get this deal done?

All offers to buy/sell should be posted in the Real Estate Classifieds.

We tried offering seller financing, money toward buying down someones rate, etc.

I work on the Property Management side so lots of insight available from past Owners, my CEO with his large portfolio, and their experiences regarding BRRRR and what areas it's successfull here in Houston.

Sorry to not offer a connection, but for this one I think your best bet is to find the "land specialist" realtor in the area and get a CMA.If you want an extremely precise number hiring an appraiser is most likely the move. 

"for rent by owner", investors)-search for non-homestead properties in your county and send postcards to those owners that own homes that meet the criteria you want to focus on-network with real estate attorneys -network with trustees in banks that offer trustee services-look up court records of landlords who have filed their own evictions and send them postcards -network with HOAs that have non-homestead properties in that association -when you see a "for rent by owner" sign in your area, send the owner a letter -join Facebook groups (for rent by owner, landlords) and being to contribute -improve your SEO on your website-find someone who can help you gather landlord info from Zillow, etc.