Take 45-60 days to close.Option 2 - Bridge loan while she builds credit - 8-12% interest only payments for 18 months - 3 points and likely the same 60% LTV.  

Because if a deal happens to go bad, the first thing your investors are going to think is that their money went towards your Bentley and mansion payments! 

A short sale if owner gets behind in payments and can demonstrate hardship may be an option.  

Would you and should you somehow use that cash to pay down principal first and use your own salary to pay monthly mortgage payment? 

Your score is calculated by several things, and on time payments makes up 35% of the total score.

What would be your recommendation to take over the mortgage payments?

Current payment is $311 5 years left.

The smaller down payment would be extremely beneficial to me at this point in my life.

My other choices are to buy a turnkey out of state (which I find very interesting but scary at the same time since I don't know many people out of state) or to just keep saving until me and my serious girlfriend are ready to settle down into a house hack.What I would love to do is buy a one a family out of state for around 100K so that I can get started in real estate and also not have to put a huge down payment so that I still have the capital to do a house hack in the future.

There is absolutely no way you can verify the cash rent payments, not even when the seller presents you with verified receipts.