Your clients will be coming to you for your expertise on what is likely their biggest asset and investment of their lives and keeping yourself up to date on the news and learning from others experiences is invaluable!

Some of these include:1) Your product/value proposition2) Marketing/Management/Customer Success3) Systems, Automations, Efficiency4) LocationTo me, #1 has the biggest weight on the success. 

My biggest concern was that I have no bargaining power when its under contract on splitting repair expenses with the seller because I have to close on it.

Your biggest problem is the same one all of us have down there right now - too much supply, too little demand.

It's my understanding that if there's a "partial exclusion", I'd use a Form 8949 with Code H...And if it's "fully excluded" and there's no 1099-S issued (which I indeed received no 1099-S), then I'd simply not mention it at all.But my biggest question is....

This is one of the biggest mistakes I observe.While terms are important, take the time to get to know what each banker has to offer, their capacity and how they can help you grow.

The biggest cost challenges with them is keeping them "historical".

Probably the biggest key is the layout and how well it lends itself to being divided.  

That and your credit score will be the biggest levers on the rate for the purchase.

Yes people lose it all, typically because of over leverage or crazy events like 2008 - but if you also have cash reserves you can offset any downside to minimize risk even moreWhen people start using lines of credit and seller financing at 90-100% you are correct those people have a very high chance of losing it all.