Your post is missing important pieces :) 

The prior owner converted the garage into a 2b/1ba private suite (so now I have a 6bed 4bath home - but no garage) a garage is important to add value to the home.Here's to a prosperous 2025!

This is why I stress the importance of knowing the laws and the strength of the legal system before investing in a particular market.

Very important to me especially investing out of state 

most contracts your 5k is your liquidated damages in most contracts. .. so snag that fire the agent and find another buyer if 13k is that important to you.. for sure not worth hiring an attorney for. 

However, it is also important to have realistic expectations for San Diego RE.  

It sounds like you’re dialing into that deeper layer of investing where trust and a sense of community become as important as the numbers on a spreadsheet.

This is the most important comment in all of this.

And THE most important thing is that you have to work with a Qualified Intermediary BEFORE you close on the property that you are selling.

We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.