I have $1.5M in the bank, and I’m trying to figure out the best move for my situation to start building out my portfolio and making moves towards financial independence.

Not that this is your situation necessarily--I'm not sure if you're going to rent out an entire place or a room--but I thought it was worth sharing.I hope this helps and if you want any more info or feedback, please DM me and we can set up a time to chat!

My agent did manage to get the appliances back, but the whole situation felt off, and I trudged forward.There was a difference in agency: in all my previous transactions, the seller was represented by a different brokerage.

Gist of the situation is I am leveraging an existing property's equity to invest into a syndication, and formed a new LLC for the ladder.

If I felt that way, I wouldn't make the agreement to begin with and I work hard to communicate clearly, calmly, and effectively to keep it from getting to that point.I am also open to compromise as my lease offers me protections that I may not need to exercise in all situations to get a fair outcome. 

It can work in very limited situations like this one, where you are just trying to remove yourself from title, but there is absolutely no reason to do so instead of a special warranty deed. 

Remember, you can put as little as 5% down on a house, duplex, triplex, or fourplex with a conventional loan.If I were you, I'd speak with a lender about your financial situation to understand what your budget actually is, then look for an inexpensive duplex.

Any advice or insight would be appreciated, with the focus on the current situation (I’m not looking to move somewhere else).

Here is the deal:I am in a rent to own situation for an investment property. 

I would say my situation is unique or special but I'm sure it is more common than I know.