Additionally the seller could own many properties and have a master insurance policy at a much cheaper rate than what you can get owning a single property.Unlike in commercial retail NNN where the tenants reimburse for property taxes and other costs with a residential rental the landlord is basically getting gross rent so how well the owner controls costs heavily affects the bottom line.Landlord paid utilities for residential is another one you want to stay away from.

My lender hinted heavily that there were/are a lot more and better, more generous wholesalers in our market to do business with. 

Investing has zero guarantees, is very high risk and depends very heavily on education in buying, selling, market knowledge, management, business operations etc.Zero to $24K is a steep climb, very ambitious, requiring top notch business skills and most likely a full time dedication to the goal. 

With all the tools and calculators for financial analysis, which ones would you rely on more heavily for SFR and small multi-units?  

Most lenders that dont care about credit will be more expensive and heavily predicated on LTV.

As I continue to save for another few months I am heavily looking into purchasing either a townhome or a SFH; a duplex is rare in my area and the only ones available are in bad areas.

In some cases people say that the population could increase 3-fold over the next 10 years- As far as jobs are concerned, Bakersfield (which was previously known as an Ag and Oil town) is still heavily invested in Ag and Oil, but are starting to diversify based on the location of the city versus other replicable factors.  

The DST is heavily loaded with expensive fees and cost to the investors who buy into them.

The seller is willing to carry an amount of down payment however, the broker I am working with said that it heavily depends on the lender and that typically the seller can carry 3% of the purchase price as down payment.

I would look heavily into finding a company that would do this for you and yes there is a cost but it would be on his side and it would be a tax right off.