By narrowing that field of options, he may be buying time, but to what avail? 

Just rip the band-aid off and get it done with.3.

Another time I had someone that was all in but the property was very narrow and difficult to build on. 

when I try to narrow the results by my city or state it will return zero results, but I know there are posts for my city/state because I can find them if I pick through the posts manually.

How do I narrow this down?

Yes it is larger and the front door has a turn on the outside and the hallway to the door is a little narrow.  

It's for a class titled The American Economy since 1865 and my professor is giving us a pretty large avenue of topics to write about, as long as it connects to the U.S. economy in some fashion and is centered around a pre-1950 period of time.I wanted to write about something that I have an interest in, so I've narrowed it down to real estate (and preferably the commercial side).

Sometimes that can help narrow your search.For now, try looking at:The Best Types of Markets for Profitable Turnkey PropertiesandWhat to Ask When Working With a Turnkey Provider

So I feel it's definitely a limiting factor to a sale.I feel like I'd be narrowing down my possibilities of a successful transaction telling the seller I'll cover it and expect a unrepresented buyer working on their credit to bring a huge EMD, Purchase Option, and/or pay elevated rent. 

Second, narrow down properties that interest you before the sale, drive them preferably and go to the county assesment office to look up any mortgages or liens.