Account Closed just to piggy back on your conversation- we haven't missed a single payment in 5 years, AND I've paid 10's of thousands more than my baseline payments to pay down principle faster.

@Casey MericleI don't know of any time limit on an option but you have to be reasonable and ethical.

Am I being foolish to try and protect the equity (from appreciation) and should I instead focus on protecting the $160K in hard dollars I've invested in the property to date ($60K down payment, $70K in rehab, $30K mortgage principle)?

A win for the investor (which can only be determined by finding out what their needs are for being a part of this and nailing it), a win for you (purchasing an asset using someone else's money), and a win for the tenants you are housing (making sure you take care of each and every tenant ethically and with respect). 

Is it work ethic, persistence, attitude, a combo of these things?

This is strictly a perception thing in my opinion, not a legal issue.Also generally speaking the code of ethics for licensees makes things like wholesaling a bit of a gray area in terms of who all gets a piece of the pie (broker's comission split and other distribution of earnings)

I'm older (close to 50) but the work ethic today is atrocious.

Hopefully market continues to rise while paying down principle with tenants money.I would appreciate any ideas or insight anyone has from seasoned investors. 

I know the general principle is to refinance the property and pull out the cash to pay off any debt (Hard money lender, rehab costs, etc...).  

Here is what I calculated as our current monthly expenses: Principle + Interest= $1450, Property Tax=$475, Insurance=$67, HOA=125, Water/Sewer(Fixed cost even if we use no water)=110 Total = $2227 and then I have to add on maintenance costs and vacancy as well.Since we bought the property in 2008 without having any real estate experience we seriously overpaid for it at the peak of the market.