Of course!

When screening potential tenants, be sure to check for credit history, rental history, and ask for references from previous landlords or roommates.

Which of course their buyer would realize if they saw your listing.   

My favorite part is that we can take the percentage of the structures assessed value (assessed improvements value / assessed total value [including land] = Percentage) and the play our purchase price by the percentage to get our depreciable basis (not including acquisition/closing costs, of course).

Local credit unions or banks could provide funding that is more suited to your requirements and have a greater grasp of the community.Understand the local construction codes, zoning laws, and any other rules that can affect your ability to make improvements or rent out the property.Make sure your escape plan is well-defined.

So, have the mortgage note signed by the person whose credit I checked who is an agent (owner?)

I have money and good credit.

I haven't explored this much but I think it would be an interesting strategy (this is assuming you don't need the cash for the next ~3-5 years minimum):Invest the whole amount in something like VTSAX or the S&P500 or whatever big blue chip stocks a lender likes and pull like half the amount out in a loan or some kind of line of credit.

Over the course of 1 year, I was able to lower my cap rate by 1%, which can make a monumental difference in value.

I would assume not, and if not, the appraiser will not give credit for a true 4 bedroom comparing against true 4 beds.