Typically wholesalers like their title company as they can control when the closing is and make sure everything is done properly related to wholesale fees etc.

I'm wondering what it typically takes to refinance, and if it's a good idea to do so

IMHO, there is NO reason to not be on Airbnb, unless you have a goldmine site that keeps you booked up, and you don't have enough time to handle all the leads from Airbnb (if you have too many leads, then you have a different "problem" of your prices not being high enough typically.)

Inspection costs are typically around 400.

I called up a property manager in the area I am looking to talk about what typical student rentals look like.

Depending on the value of the property you will need to show up with $x,000 in certified funds to register to bid and if you are the high bidder you will need to increase your deposit to y% (typically 10%) of the high bid within a couple of business days. 30 days settlement is standard, so financing is possible.The difference in risk level between private auctions and foreclosures is huge.

Is there a low-cost service out there that the tenants can go to and print their own report so that they don't keep getting charged by multiple landlords when they are applying for several places?

Cozy.co website can send the combined application and screening that applicant pays for with their own credit card on your behalf and you get the application and reports once completed.

Expense %s can be regional so check out what typical for your area.  

Typically something like $70K purchase price, $10K down, 6% interest rate, 20 year ammortization, 10 year balloon.