My recommendation would be to buy something low end and build funds, meet people, and wait for a great deal.Also, it’s much more likely you will be able to find a SFH that will work as a rental when you move out.

Depending on your market, I'd suggest Absentee Owners with Equity, Seniors with Long-Time Ownership and Homeowners with Low Financial Stability Scores.These are good seller leads who haven't yet put their homes on the market.

Your offer is only 3% above list price so I suspect you'll be fine.Second, even if the appraisal came in low, you could walk away from the contract for other reasons like inspection objections.

House is 8 years old (low maintenance). 

The reason he asked was there's a high end, and low end appraisal depending on what you need it for.Now, if it's intra-family, and you're getting it below market, to play it safe, do the sale based on the appraised amount, and have the difference handled as a gift.

A property manager cost will depend on the area I've seen it as low as 5% in high rent areas, but the national average seems to be about 10%. 

It is herd mentality that people buy high and sell low.

The other comments are about low down payments.

When I show houses in the 250k range (very low range), we're most likely going to SeaTac.

(I think that is low but let’s run with it).