One of my short term goals is to have buy a MFH within the next 12 months.

I’ll PM you shortly

In short, I call BS.

If he thinks you are the buyer and has a short fuse... good luck, sounds like a recipe for a BAD situation.

Are there real estate agents in Westchester County, NY that specialize in finding short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, etc. for cash buyers?

But tenant is Duplex A is $500 short. 

A possible alternative would be to find a local partner with experience and success in running short-term rentals, and do a 1033 to partner on one in the same or another attractive area in SoCal. 

Long story short, you're coming out of pocket every month with this one to pay the bills once you turn it into a rental.After 3 years, you'd have about $27k in equity (assuming no appreciation/depreciation), which shakes out to about $750/month of your BAH going into your pocket for 3 years living there. 

Recent quote from First American for a refi around the same loan amount: Escrow fee $595.00 - includes recording feesTitle fee $450.00 (short form policy)Notary fee $150.00I like them because they don't change a dozen different fees!

The short of it is, if I wait 6 to 8 weeks, I'm out probably at least 3-5k.