I ultimately plan to utilize double close, but like I said just trying to get my feet wet.  

In person, do you think a 30's woman or a 30's man is more likely to be taken seriously and ultimately trusted to close the deal by the seller?

Of course, you need to read The Ultimate Beginners Guide to REI here on BPIf you haven’t already, please read/listen to these books ASAP!

Both the Ultimate Beginners Guide and Brandon's book on Investing with low and money down are great resources for learning about RE financing. 

Tore this page out of the Scotsman Guide, junk mail that mortgage brokers get promoting guru stuff.

The first is the ultimate Beginners Guide to Real Estate Investing by Brandon Turnerhttps://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2015/01/3...The second is a list of books that you should definitely check out to decipher which strategy is best for you to achieve your goalshttps://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/04/1...

Ultimately, I decided not to make an offer.

Ultimately, my goal is create a win/win situation for all parties involved. 

Once again there were lessons learned and the ultimate goal is to improve after the renovation is done.

A bit of tangent but ultimately, as long as it cash flows today, the rental market is generally more robust so I would worry less about the market overall so long as rent is still coming in.