There's often a lot of pressure to "not miss out," but no deal is so good that you have to put yourself in a compromised position to do it.

I don't know if lifelock would help, being his info has already been compromised.

Often, an experienced contractor can do foundation repairs at a lower cost without compromising quality. 

If so, what is the right compromise?

While I employ a lot of modern intelligence these days, there are some things I do not compromise.   

If you are going to let the emotion of a personal story get to you (which I am not saying as an insult) and compromise your criteria, hire someone to fill the unit for you so the emotion is taken out of the equation.

Its important as a borrower to keep in mind that your financing ability isn't compromised by these premiums.

My best advice to you on tenants is 1) screen and don't compromise on getting a good tenant; 2)  hire an agent to rent out your units if don't have the tools and aren't close by. 

Compromise is always good.  

It does seem clear that the way forward is to take the pathway that is a compromise between satisfying short term needs intelligently while still keeping cash to work with to fund my own first flip not too far in the future and move up from there.