He rose to the rank of Lt.

If I were in your shoes I would attempt to contact the seller and at the same time contact the local law enforcement agency.

I did make a minimum down payment, however the PMI was already removed as the home value rose above the 22% Equity QL requires in the first year.

It makes no sense for you to be reading how to manage real estate right now unless you have the capital to buy some.If I were in your shoes, I'd be working on figuring out how I can get a high paying job out of university that will help fund your own investment company or getting a job in the RE industry so you can build a network.

I need to celebrate small triumphs, be present for others, thank others, allow my mind to take a break, keep my mind more open, laugh more, and smell the roses. 

Or if you've done a lot of painting and see that someone's got paint on their shoes, you could use that as an opening, etc.It also helps to have a few "canned" conversation items like "how long have you been coming here", "do you own any properties (and of so, tell me about them)", "what did you think of the main speaker" etc.Yeah, they're all gimmicks in a sense, but I think most people do it, consciously or unconsciously, because I think it makes most people feel more comfortable psychologically when they find some common ground to start talking with.Those are just some thoughts.

*Not an attorney here* but depending on the state, you can usually back out of the contact as the buyer (or wholesaler) up until the closing date HOWEVER, this is very highly frowned upon (just put yourself in the seller's shoes and you'll understand why).If the problem is finding a buyer, you probably do not have a deal, unfortunately!

If I were in your shoes I would try to find the highest paying hourly job I could to build my base. 

I'm also glad we live in a country where agents like @Jamie Rose can protect themselves from bears...no initial meeting or ID request can prevent that!

@Lyn Dawson   Rose Mosley also runs a good Newark meetup.com group.