The only thing that keeps me from owning a house for my personal use is the baggage it comes with like maintenance, time and overhead costs.But I understand It'll cut costs and is something I should really think about.Thanks

what kind of investment was/is this  a little more detail may protect others if you think this person is a financial predator.  

Also consider when you sell house with seller financing to owner occupied person as their primary residence you cannot balloon per Dodd Frank.  

Personally, I’ve been looking for ways to align creativity with the numbers, whether that’s finding undervalued properties, building relationships with local agents, or pivoting to new strategies.

Ask for higher security in person have them back out on their own if they still want the place you will be safer with more security

How many properties have you seen in person during these years you've been looking, but not buying? 

You are still going to have holding costs and a heloc will just have less holding costs that you would if you were doing a personal line or hard money. 

Some owners expect their PMC to actually be a personal assistant:(How did you set expectations for this client when onboarding them?

Quote from @Monish Anand: Start by looking for personal recommendations from investors in that market, then look on realtor.com or a google search.DO NOT use agents suggested by a website like realtor, Zillow, etc.

Then the person is soured on gambling on real estate and not around here to answer questions.