I guess I am going to try and stay away from anything tenant occupied, at least for my first deal.

hey Bp so Im going in be closing on first house hack in a couple weeks. its a duplex with one side already rented out. tenant been there 3 years and on month to month lease but still wants to stay.. according to seller. my question is how do I inform the tenant that I will be buying house and where to send payment too??

I'd prefer to stay somewhat local vs investing in an unfamiliar area of the country.

But have since decided to stay where they are.

Big thanks for the recommendation on this now my tenant probably played me because I complained about this they moved furniture in and stayed one night. 

Definitely would stay far away from that restaurant!

Just run the various analyses and make sure you're comfortable looking someone in the eye and telling them you believe it is a good deal.

I can't tell you how many times we've gone after a deal, seen someone pay FAR more than we were willing to, and then receive an offering for it with much more aggressive projections that I'd ever be comfortable with. 

My wife and I are in a transition period -- one in which I retired my decade-long business, became a stay-at-home dad for our 2nd child, and am now doing RE investing fulltime (managing my local properties and making good progress on remote-investing in other parts of the country).  

@Scott Morongell to be honest it just seems to be what I think I would be the most comfortable with.