Exercise your option and purchase the house.You don't own it yet so you will not be able to refinance.Jeff

Whose agent has the contract, if it's your agent, you don't have an exercised agreement yet and you can cancel but you'll likely still have to compensate your agent.

Im not a lawyer but i believe he wont be able to role his money into SFR's because it isn't a like assets.  

@Robert Herrera, my instinct would be to tell your "tenant buyer" to either exercise their buy option at $57k - or not.

You apparently aren't aware of my typical role in this scenario.

Once you secure the property you can start to add value and exercise your option to purchase it once you have the financing for it. 

If appreciation plays a big role in your investment strategy and/or you're buying all or heavily cash, Austin could be attractive.If you are good at performing due diligence and can purchase something cash, then you could find a rehab/value-add (BRRR) opportunity. 

But by getting involved directly in real estate, that will take me into a much more active role, at least from what I understand today.Are there any words of caution/wisdom in dealing with attorneys and keeping legal costs to a minimum? 

In my opinion, I would treat this as an academic exercise. 

Give them 24 months or so to exercise and buy when they're ready.