(That being said, it's easy to go over budget on a rehab or overestimate the ARV, so be very careful with this.)Overleveraging overall is having too much debt to cover your expenses or not enough liquid cash.

Go to HOUZZ and look at gravel driveways in New England-they have it down and many use a granite atone or paver border-This is best and aesthetically pleasing.But, if you want budget friendly, there is a cheap fix.

Real zoned duplexes and multifamily apartments start at $800k+ in SF Bay Area, which is beyond my budget. 

I once told a “wholesaler” 10% on a 50k property and they about lost it saying they would lose money which is another sign that you maybe don’t want to work for people like that if they can’t understand the dollar value nor can budget half decently.

Entrepreneurial Profit - A bare bones, dollar for dollar, return on investment in a commercial rehab can be estimated by applying a standard 15% to 20% "entrepreneurial profit" to the cost basis of the deal ((purchase price + CapEx) * 1.15) Note, cost basis is generally just the purchase price plus the total budget, but it can be good to include the total cost of capital as well.

This can give you a better idea of what you can purchase on your budget, who the typical renters are in that area (e.g., retirees, college students, etc.), etc.   2.

I want to purchase a property within 6-8 months of finishing my loan payments and ideally I would use this year to continue learning and crunching numbers on properties that I find for practice, but have no idea what my budget should be because I have no idea what loan amount I might get approved for...I would like to do FHA for the 3.5% down and looking at qualifications I should be able to qualify, but I feel like until I actually sit down and see what exactly I can get approved for, there is a huge gap in my planning...

I would recommend setting up a budget, getting a new lease for the family, and taking advantage of your deployment income to save that initial down payment.  

You have to budget for damage and replacement of those items. 

Your annual budget and reserve funding documents can shed light on that, and you absolutely need to understand them.Owner's are ultimately responsible to pay fines, and typically charge them back to the tenant directly, or if they are using a Rental manager to oversee their unit, the PM would do so.