I am flexible with the exact city or suburb.

Hello Lorne,I have an investor friendly agent in town would recommend (St.Petersburg), but please be thinking about where  you can be flexible.

To be honest, unless the numbers are drastically different, I wouldn't worry about it too much. 100k at 5 vs 5.5% is about 30 a month difference on a 30 yr fixed.I would select the bank that offers the widest variety and most flexible loan products so you can use this as a chance to start building a relationship with them.

cash is typically king in freedom and flexibility to take advantage of buying opportunities so I always go with 20% down to keep my options open.

A duplex policy will rarely have any flexibility in pricing.  

Students coming out of college are saddled by student debt now more than ever, to exacerbate the situation younger millennials are now more than ever placing a higher priority on flexibility in the work place and their living situations leaving many of them choosing to rent over seeking out home ownership; This paired with boomers looking to divest their investments into a more "hands off" approach helps create the perfect storm for young investors ready to take advantage of the multi-family climate.

I’d probably just put them on 2 standard contracts to give you flexibility unless you know the same buyer will take them both.

Portfolio lenders have more flexibility but a little higher rates usually.

Earning a commission on your deals is nice for the extra money, although some choose to waive their commission in exchange for a lower purchase price so that give you some flexibility as well. 

Question 1 - The great thing about partnerships is the flexibility of how to allocate income/loss.