Things were getting bogged down because we just couldn't quite get a feel for the out-of-state properties and as a result, there was a lot of talking and rationalizing, but the inability to pull the trigger.  

My preference in evaluating multifamily projects has alway been thru debt service ration arrived at after subtracting all truse cost and diving said result into the net income verse other methods of ROI, COC. 

Rationalization,...the most expensive word in the REI vocabulary. 

Reasons he stated are not rational (something about his bank systems getting hacked and he wanted to get the payment out to me asap) He has been a problem tenant in the past threatening to lawyer up on trivial issues.

Keep a rational perspective and continue to do the math—those numbers will guide your decision.Good luck!

Stick to your budget going in, or at have a trusted person with you to to help think through whether new information or other rationalization has you inclined to bid more.2)  value your time:  On an individual deal basis, I see people who are attracted to time freedom via real estate/cash-flow/passive-income sinking an awful lot of time into evaluation and pursuit and monitoring and decision-making.

If you approach it rationally and respectfully, there's a good chance he'll see the light.

I use a mortgage broker who has been great thus far but now he is telling me my debt to income ration won't allow me to borrow anymore at this time.  

I usually act very rationally regarding $1,500 expenses that may not return a whole lot to my bottom line.

it really is not rational for most folks on here to aspire to that in 5 years if ever.