Before your inspection contingency runs out you should have a very good idea of what the rehab costs are going to be and if you're not doing the work yourself, you should have a contractor bid.There are a variety of ways to accomplish this and it depends on your comfort level. have your agent work with the listing agent/sellers to set up a time to walk through so you can get a better of idea of sq ft, floor, paint, number of doors/windows, etc

Some HML offer a variety of loan options like Lower LTV or LTC loans at lower rate then the highest rate applies to highest ltv or ltc loansOthers have very different rates for a first time flip vs the 20th time flip.

I've never heard of an appraiser that also works as a realtor, but many have their realtor's license for a variety of reasons.

I have about half a million tenant horror stories that I share frequently on BP.

There is a huge variety of business models here between brokers.

I am definitely going to be looking at Birmingham - very familiar with the city as I lived there until 2017 and visit frequently; had not thought about Montgomery so thank you very much for mentioning all the potential in that city - will be looking there as well.

I have found that one of the unit in my duplex has tenants that frequently leave the outside door unlocked. 

Unless the mortgage you get specifies owner occupied, there's no reason you wouldn't be permitted to use the property as a rental.But the bigger issue here is why are you buying conventionally when you can take control of the property with a variety of lease option strategies that don't require you to deal with attorneys and banks. 

Generally, they have no loyalty and will drop you like a hot potato for a variety of reasons( you killed their deal, cheaper inspector).

As a result, we moved frequently.