@Shannon Peace are you saying that if I put my money in escrow contingent on this unit being vacated, I might still lose the money if the attempt to vacate is unsuccessful? 

Peace of mind and having been through the process a time or two with an expert will ease your mind and show you exactly how it's done.Best of luck!

Through the CRE you can engage a buyers broker to find properties that meet the criteria suggested by the CRE.I know my advice is unconventional in today's instantaneous knowledge, instant satisfaction, guru worship environment.  

There were portions that I liked and portions that I thought could be improved upon.I believe that group cohesiveness and openness are two keys to creating the best environment for people to interact whether they be someone new to REI, like myself, or the most experienced member of a meetup.I am curious...What in your opinion makes for the most optimal meetup?

But back then the interest rate environment was 1.5-2% higher than what they are now, so they are comparable to what Finance of America is offering now.So with high value houses, I think the fees are not too bad, but if your house is between 100-200k, it looks expensive. 

In today's very low interest rate environment, something in the 6-8% interest rate range usually works for both parties.

Don't rely on them as your only mail peace though.

I will just be renting it out, but in the event of an incident on the deck or if I ever end up selling it I am looking for peace of mind.

The loan was at 380k, punching that into a calc and looking at amortization shows that throughout the life of the loan we would have spent 275k on interest alone to get an extra ~4500/year back on the taxes... it seemed like that small return was outweighed by 1. not having an 2000/mo payment, 2. not paying the extra 275k in interest 3. peace of mind of not ever having to worry about having a roof over our heads.So, I know you are probably going to look at this and tell me that I sound contradictory or it doesn't make sense to want tax write offs but then give up the best/easiest tax write off available to "most" people.

I would also add real estate and bonds to the list as well.I think we are in a deflationary environment (i.e. too much debt and excessively low interest rates) and expect the value of most asset classes to fall over the coming few years.Like you, I'm saving my cash and hoping to buy my first rental property when prices come back down.Best of luck with your investments!