Is Tempe a good place to look/is demand there with near by college/what type of renters are out there?

Marcus & Millichap, CBRE, JLL, Colliers, Cushman & wakefield are national names that likely have local offices nearby.

In fact, the buyers rights are much fewer when he has equitable title instead of legal title.

Added garage (most homes nearby do not have garages) What was the outcome?

Posting something like "looking for great tenants, if anyone knows of anybody please send them my way," can get out to a lot of people.Also if there are any colleges nearby, they will have groups FB groups too.

Having a printer/scanner handy and a notary nearby helps a lot.

@Rodney Phillips  Joe is right, 4 or fewer units can be on conventional loans, which is often the cheapest money. 

And you can get some/all of that back when you file the tax return for that tax year with Rhode Island.Generally I think the price is OK for 2 units and you'll probably do OK but I think you might find this one a little more challenging over time than you might expect as that area (Chalkstone) is a bit rough in places, and the house having no front yard, while certainly easier for lawn mowing, also gives it a tougher feel.So I would be very careful with who you pick for the units as I think you're going to get a lot of "C" type prospective tenants coming through, and comparatively fewer "B" types who you really want.I think you'll probably do OK but I would plan to be pretty hands on for the first 3-6 months until you really make sure it's stabilized and you have decent tenants there.

So right now my goal is to find a 3 or 4 unit house ideally around Clifton or neighboring towns since my parents and family are also nearby and I'd like to be close by for when we start a family in the very near future. 

We didn't give this seller multiple offers to choose from because we felt the best option was a short sale and the purchase price would be determined by the bank anyway.Because of our in-depth comps analysis of other nearby properties in poor condition, we were able to prove to the bank a $90,000 As-Is Value.