;(- if as-is value is less then the balance on the mortgage + arears OOOPS you need to have the owner work with the bank, you as the investor buyer AND a short sales expert often an agent work the tedious and usually failing short sale process. 

I listed 2 properties for sale from my portfolio.

I had the initial call with a PadSplit sales person, but I wanted to talk to somebody who's actually doing it to get their perspective and advice.

Would a low enough sales price make all of my concerns go away?

Usually in the year following your purchase, the property appraiser will reevaluate the house based on the new sales price.  

Found a property which is Sheriff sale, really promising.

I have the credit, experience and the knowledge on how to underwrite the deal to show their ROI in this arrangement vs a traditional sale. 

Here are the specifics on our Seattle house: 5br 4ba 3,400 sq ft, built in 2019, $1.7M est sale price, $5.5K-$6K/mo est rental value, 4.0% mortgage with $3.3K monthly payment, around $1M in equity. 

Also, not very easy to use typical methods of valuation like comparable sales - there is no public tax assessor's website that you can just freely grab this from. 

So many times investors start with a Realtr who just wants to make a sale and they have no idea about the rental market.