Only if you consider working every night, weekend, holiday, and times when I should have been on vacation lucky, mucking around in crawlspaces, hunting down houses, falling through floors, etc. 

There's a good chance the issue(s) you face has already been discussed and answered.Ask questions in the appropriate forum.

Also, the owner expressed concerns over the capital gains tax early in the discussion...so I am thinking the opportunity to do vendor financing will help me get a good purchase price and help the vendor with taxes.  

(Only if you are SERIOUS about real estate as your wealth/career vehicle.)Make sure you join a brokerage that is large, established, and has a reputation for top performance and excellent training.Once you learn the basics and get out into the field to see the state of the market, you'll learn the price points and be able to know a good/great deal when you stumble across it.I have made some of my best (most lucrative) buys from meeting with a seller who wants to list, and when we discussed the price, I knew it fit my parameters, so I bought it! 

There are lots of local meetups and frequent discussions about all things real estate here in Sac / Norcal.

I find it interesting (amusing is perhaps a better word) that the previous two posters who are touting the program being discussed each have exactly one post on BiggerPockets and they are just 15 minutes apart.

I recommend reading or listening to people discussing it.

@Brian Bohrer I'd love to discuss your question in further detail to ensure I'm giving you the correct answer.

BTW Veria - COO and Jorge (CEO) are married and at least once a week discuss who and when they are letting go.

Please reach out if you want to discuss more.