Partnership agreements carry significant weight unless they violate some sort of public policy or seek to waive a duty case law demands is non waivable.

Daniel that is a good point that I haven't really been giving enough weight to in my factoring.

Sometimes talking with them may get a reduction, as some lenders have a price match policy. 

This should have been addressed within a few days of putting it under contract, at which time you could have asked for a price reduction, repair, or get out of the contract if no suitable resolution could be reached between the seller and you. 

@Marc Izquierdo Think from an investor perspective, what weight will this 3+ position will bear?!

Sears scratch and dent seem to be the most competitive, and to your points will not carry much weight in terms of warranty / service given the struggling brick and mortar model. 

Is this true or is anyone aware of tax savings or reductions when investing in your first property?

I learned that the end of December was not the ideal time to purchase a property, as I was not able to take advantage of a property tax reduction whereby a tenant was required to be in place by January 1st to take advantage of this property tax savings.

My clients are seeing many more price reduction alerts than new listing alerts in the emails they receive due to rates rising and seasonal timing. 

Single family price per square foot probably would not carry much weight when you consider a 4 plex we are talking 4x all of the appliances, sinks, plumbing hook ups.