Both of us have corporate jobs with decent salaries, so we are saving about half of our income every month after all fixed and variable expenses and we have no plans to move in the foreseeable future.

LOL.The "deal" you mentioned is missing so much info ($$$numbers) that you can't say it's good or bad.Bad deals are always getting "called out". 

I LOVE saving money too but at the end of the day, I own properties out of state and I don't try and sell on my own.

Saves you time in doing showings. 

@Candace Pfab thanks for the info!

I know you don't want to pay the extra 3% commission to a realtor, but they can really save you from investing in a below-quality neighborhood and help reduce your days on the market (saving you with financing costs).

I am, however, a college instructor and so I have some flexibility in my work.All appliances (save for the water heater) are new and unless I added a small garage or something I'm not sure what to do for a value add..

Regardless, it could be a substantial savings for me.

I know there is a ton of information here which I will scour to get lots of info, but my wife and I are purchasing a home to use as a short term rental/place for my mom and dad to stay a couple months out of the year.  

Let me know if there are other options I should consider.Option 3 - save organically and get creative with sub2, assumption and / or seller-financing for your next acquisition.