Cost alone not being my biggest consideration.

Likewise there is an “assets” consideration to think about.  

We don't know what states the properties reside.Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, South Dakota, Virginia have different laws.Oh, and by the way, an attestation to the insurer and others (mortgagee) will not change premiums nor constitute a “sale.”There are considerations such as the loss of asset protection after judgment (beneficial interest is personal property, not real property), but if the property is clear of a mortgage and the concern is title theft (a concern you raised), then putting the property into a land trust is probably a lower cost alternative to maintaining a debt (which irritates the wife). 

Robuilt has some youtube videos where he covers these tax considerations.

I also really like that this is a U-shaped window unit which wraps over the window sill, meaning that you get to keep nearly all of your window's view and natural light, as well as it being theoretically harder for someone to break into the apartment by kicking in/pulling out the AC unit (ours is on the second floor, but the safety concerns for first floor units is definitely a consideration you'll want to factor in).Heating.  

If it will cost you considerably more in the future and loss of appreciation, lose of tax writeoffs and lose of cash flow in the meanwhile, than the amount of debt you are paying off, how does that put you ahead? 

50% down is considerable but common.

But, the #'s are not the only consideration, at least shouldn't be in my experience.

Since Garrett Sutton's advice speaks specifically to some of the advice you've been given here, I'd can't encourage you enough to at least read the book and take his advice into consideration.  

I'll take that into consideration!