However, you're going to need to send hundreds of thousands of emails to get a deal.

I do the same in my co-living properties (always in approved areas only) because it eliminates 90% of the “he said/she said” issues and keeps everyone accountable.And you're absolutely right: furnishing the home well sets the tone for the type of tenant you attract.

For the down payment, most hard money or private lenders will want you to have some skin in the game — usually around 10 to 20 percent of the purchase price, depending on your experience and deal strength.Always budget extra for closing costs too.

Totally get the appeal, but 100% financing always feels risky to me—if you’ve got no skin in the game, the lender or investor’s taking on all the risk.

Do so in a calm, professional manner, but set the tone that the rules are to be followed.  

You are also going to need to give them a list of utilities to put in their name, whose name it is and get proof they do if you don't already do that with tenants.

My skin is in this game. 

If yo found a 3/4 plex for let's say 200k even FHA owner occupied you're going to need at least $10k to close, who knows how much to make sure the other units are livable (BTW, you should live in the smallest, crappiest unit), and reserves or access to credit to repair the inevitable things that will come up.

I've been reading up on best landlord practices and gathering all the documents I'm going to need to cover myself (I will be self-managing). 

If you can find a property that is in need of a lot scrape or retrofit, but is in proximity to a grocery center with good access and visibility, their is likely several ways to "skin that cat" from a build to suit to a ground lease, etc.