It used to take me no effort to rationalize that I was doing the sellers a serious service by taking their less than desirable real estate off their hands.

And that's what I would tell anyone else about my can't do attitude of recent...it's just not me and hard to rationalize with myself in this state.I do need to breathe.

I guess I am looking for a rational excuse to grow a bit more.

Odds are high that he'll rationalize why he shouldn't have to follow through on ANY promise he makes to you. 

Beyond that, obviously you'll want to more deeply dig into the expenses, taxes, condition, etc, but based purely on the ration of rents to purchase price, it sounds like a deal worth looking further into.  

There is a buyer for every property (almost every) if the price is right.As for the pictures yes the memos and trulia and zillow push that talking point.. .Houses with more pictures get more showings or sell quicker blah blah... he rational is correct if a person sees everything they know what they are walking into and are less likely to think you are hiding something...

Per per my situation where I did a small % of partnership (not profiting, simply on the loan as a guarantor/small ownership) with my father, my personal cash reserve accounts were a bit tight after closing.So when my 1st mortgage is due in September as well as 66% of the utility bills, insurance etc will be due, that will come straight out of my pocket as all the pro-rations at closing (rents/taxes) went in as a CREDIT.

Whether rational or not, I believe that at times agents in general do have the incentive to create the perception of there being more demand than there actually is.Here's my reasoning:On both the sell and buy side, the perception of a strong market/demand in general, or for an individual property - increases prices. 

I am understanding but I really don't wanna hear a whole bunch of rationalizations and stories of why this or that is bad.

The advice he offers is rational and applicable.