Its about the right size / type / condition for the property I would like to find to upgrade from the duplex I sold in 2019,   and from my research,  it is likely that the ownership are getting to the point in their tenure where selling might be on their minds.Given the building's likely income/expense numbers  (I own a nearby, similar style/quality property I can extrapolate from) I can make an educated guess to its value and given that value range I can afford it without excess leverage.   

It all comes down to what are your priorities, how’s your appetite for risk and what is your long term goal.

@Paul Bickle similar to what John said, some companies simply don't have a great appetite for helping investors. 

Not a terrible lot at that amount, but multiply your debt by 10 ($1 million), then you need $40K per the bankers, which I feel is excessive.

Currently the city is an absolute seller's market -- most decently priced homes are selling within 24 hours of being listed, to where it's hard for me to be competitive without going excessively over (I'd be putting only 3% down).

If the unpaid balance on the Contract Price at the time of the termination exceeds the expense of finishing the Work, Owner shall pay such excess to Contractor."1.

As Andy points out, do your own research based on your risk tolerance and appetite.

Purchase price, how many days out of the year it needs to be rented to break even, How much excess cash you will have on hand after purchase, etc.  

While many elements can contribute to the scale of a residential structure, designs should minimize the appearance of over or excessive building substantially in excess of existing structures in the neighborhood.

When the stock market tanked as states/cities enforced stay at home orders and forced businesses to close, the appetite for these loans dried up immediately over night on the secondary market.