You can pull out 70-80 % on max cash out (110,00-$120,000)I would pay him back $110,000 And own the house outright. 

Would like to pull money out of that home for a downpayment on another home.

Finally, I pulled down the proof of insurance from their website portable.

I am not sure what the status of it currently is — already capped, I imagine.So based on my current circumstances, and in alignment with your suggestion, I was thinking that the best option would be for me to continue to live in this condo, continue saving up, and then combine my savings + pull equity from this prop to invest in an affordable investment property when I can, ideally after a year or so.

DSCR would be your best bet but again 25% down and a DSCR of 1.25% minimum.Do yourself a favor and do not let just any Lender/loan officer pull your credit just so they can take an application and have a possible deal.

I will admit we got pulled into one and to be honest, found what we received through the Bigger Pockets network (tools, books, networking, etc.) far exceeded what we made many times for elsewhere. 

That seems to happen when smart money pulls out of the markets and into commodities/hard goods. 

If you own a property 50/50 and one person wants to refinance or pull cash out to buy another property it has to be a 2 way agreement since both have to sign.  

When homes are pulled in a safety inspection must be paid for prior to the home being occupied.

Now I have never personally pulled a $15,000 commission check on a single property, so things may be different where i am.