As long as you find deals that cash flow and have a margin of safety if rents dip, I'd buy as many as I could.As far as your first question, I would do both.

Same with arms length affidavits.Provide a one-page recap of important sales contract terms.

Dig my meter out, check the safety circuits, all ok, find that the gas valve is getting voltage but no gas is coming out.  

These properties were in B- neighborhoods or better so safety was never an issue.

***if there are issues in the appraisal( life safety/condition) you will need to negotiate with seller on who picks up that tab.

My worry is that this takes away my margin of safety and can affect my ability to finance/refinance.So my question is: Is it unwise to pay more than comps would suggest, even if the rental income can justify the higher price?

When it comes up to reset at the end of year 3, refinance into a new 3/1 VA hybrid arm and do it all again.  

One suggestion I would give to anyone looking at doing this is know exactly what your ARV is (and keep it on the low side), know your costs going in and adding 30% to that for safety margin and DON'T overlook how much monthly holding costs are because they will eat you alive if you're not careful!

A laundry list of items (especially ones that were already visible during the previous home tour) is a sign of someone with cold feet or getting bad advice from their agent/family/friends.If you are in a seller's market you tell them you aren't going to fix anything outside of safety or hazard issues.

Property taxes for non owner occupy properties in Indianapolis / Marion County are 2% of market rate, based on most recent arm length's sale ($40,000 purchase price = $800 annual property tax).