However, I'm not 100% sure this was actually a mistake.

Quote from @Jessie Dillon: one thing that you can do is have the seller transfer the deed to a living trust that they're the sole beneficiary of, and call the bank to give them a heads up that they're doing it for estate planning purposes. then, a month or more later, buy the property sub-to, and change the beneficiary of the trust. the bank can not see who owns a trust, and if they ever come back and question it, you can just swap the beneficiaries again, show the bank that the seller is still the owner, then swap it back again when they buzz off. this is one of many reasons it's so important to keep a good relationships with the seller if you're buying this way. you have to work together on some stuff.In summary: fraud. 

(we all know the reason why) In the meantime, should I just move forward with the lease and let them know they need to provide it when it becomes available?

If for no other reason than you can. 

I think it is just as indisputable that higher cost markets will produce greater value add via a proper rehab.Next question is does initial cash flow have any correlation to actual cash flow over a long hold. 

They care about what they estimate it would cost to rebuild the home.All else being equal, yes, older homes are more expensive to insure than newer homes for a variety of reasons. 

I wouldn't think it would take a private lender (which is much higher priced) than a typical mortgage broker's rates.Is there a reason you think you need a private lender?  

However, our goal is to help 100k investors obtain financial freedom - hence the reasons why we provide many videos, podcasts, programs, and services to help with this journey.Unfortunately, we cannot promise that every deal we help you get under contract will close.

You're not in the position to be a cash buyer...as a former wealth manager, it's simply not a good play for you for many of the reasons stated above and more.  

Once your emergency account has a reasonable amount in it, whatever that means to you, you might want to think about steering that payroll money into the investment savings account from each pay check and leave the emergency account money as is.