This is rough and I'm sorry you are going through this.

Would love to hear your insights, tips, or any lender recommendations you’ve had success with!

Deduct NEW property taxes after you buyDeduct home insurance costsDeduct maintenance percentage, typically 10%Deduct vacancy+tenant nonperformance percentage(we recommend 5% for Class A, 10% Class B, 20% Class C, good luck with Class D)Deduct whatever dollar/percentage of cashflow you wantNow, what you have left over is the amount for debt service.Enter it into a mortgage calculator, with current interest rate for an investment property, to determine your maximum mortgage amount.Divide the mortgage amount by either 75% or 80%, depending on the required down payment percentage - this is your tentative price to offer.If the property needs repairs, you'll want to deduct 110%-120% of the estimated repairs from this amount.Be sure to also research the ARV and make sure it's 10-20% higher than your tentative purchase price.As long as the ARV checks out, this is the purchase price to offer.It is probably significantly below the asking price.

We have aprospectuve Tennant who's employer will be covering their rent for their 12 month contract.Anyone dealt with this before?

Now I’m wondering, is this allowed?

How can one, who has only rudimentary knowledge in real estate without any boots on ground experience (read a few books), effectively choose a real estate agent?

Quote from @Peaches Jones: You've asked this same question in multiple places.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

If you are Sally, this is useful to you.

This trend of rising rents is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.