I ask to take a walk through and document the current condition as my agreement states they can not damage the property during this process. and of course don't give them anything until you have walked through verified they are out and have voluntarily handed over keys. 

Once under contract you do significant more due diligence to verify the data you have been given.

I initially offered $200K in cash, but the seller countered at $240K.

I have "XXXX" of debts every month, and make "XXXX" every two weeks.That will find the cost of duplex you need, though you may need to verify it is using current FHA guidelines as they have changed recently, so make sure you use that. 

Verifying last 2 years of rental history very important!

Verifying last 2 years of rental history very important!

Once verifying see if you can talk to the buyer directly & explain the 90-day flip rule and see if the buyer is willing to wait 2 weeks before submitting his offer. 

I like to go with the motto, Trust but Verify.

Initially, I was focused on multifamily properties, but after doing more research and considering that I will be making Florida my primary residence, I believe that house hacking or short-term rentals (STR) may be the ideal route for me.i still will own my Southern California home; shift it to secondary.  

You can pre-screen them for free, then run the credit/criminal background only for those that pass your initial review so you're not wasting time.