If you are paying cash for keys a very important stipulation is that they do not receive the cash until you receive the keys and they are totally moved out. 

& Birmingham, Alabama.In addition there are tons of other turnkey markets out there besides those listed above.

Got my license in 2017, sold 1 deal, then bailed on it. worked 2 years as an engineer and decided to give RE a try again. many months later received a commission check and believed in the process. year after that bought my first house hack and went from there...

Do you recommend having additional savings in the bank, if so, how much? 

You could receive a citation at any point to remove illegal siding, etc.

Lastly If you don't intend to live there you might consider a house manager, and definitely consider additional cleaning costs and parking.

Yes, you can pay the additional amount to bring your loan amount to the maximum county loan limit.

Ask for a down payment that you can then take to invest elsewhere and then you will also still be receiving monthly cash flow coming in on the seller finance payments.

The seller themself won't have any additional incentive to choose your offer however, so it's debatable how much this will really help you.

Another neighbor told me she offered them an additional trashcan but they refused.