Most lenders will make you buy in an LLC so that it is not officially owner occupied no matter what but will make it a little more difficult to do a refi into long term debt or they will make you buy in your name but sign an affidavit that you will not occupy the home.

By moving thousands of people off the street in record time, it was a stunning demonstration of what can be done, officials say.

What are the proper steps I need to take and who do I need to contact?

Living at the property will allow you to learn the most, your acquisition costs will be more attractive, and by properly maintaining the home you'll in a small way be improving your community. 

As for tenants potentially taking advantage of the rental laws and you wanting to make sure you "get your rent"....I would advise you to strongly consider putting tenants in the property that have a Section 8 Voucher IF you vet them properly.

Just know them going in so that you can properly budget.

While the tax office tries to find ways to obtain the MLS information through third parties, they aren't supposed to have access.Most commonly the way they get the sales price is by sending an official letter to the property saying for you to disclose the amount.

I am looking at beginning my Real Estate investing journey in approximately 3 months (can’t start now due to a military PCS coming up) and I want to make sure I have all the proper groundwork laid so I can hit the ground running.

You can then move out and turn the whole property into a proper rental.

He is feeding me some BS about not being allowed to be on a lease until he is discharged and that he is required to move back to his duty station until officially discharged.This is a huge pain which could have been easily avoided by not signing a lease in the first place.