@Jon Ree I suppose besides getting that first payment earlier, and helping your credit by repaying the LOC, I believe the other "advantage" is that you then have those funds available for any other unforeseen emergency that you may not have enough funds saved for yet, like to replace broken furnace or something.

My goal is to retain as much as possible for as long as possible as to 1. keep an "emergency fund" of sorts in case there are unforeseen expenses that I would not necessarily be able to cover with my police officer pay and 2.

I suggest putting the minimal amount down so you have cash on hand in case of unforeseen repairs.

Jeff C.The contract should say the seller is delivering good title.Your title company should be doing a title search to uncover any problemsAnd you should be getting title insurance to cover any unforeseen problems.Different title companies have different views.

With all this in mind, you can feel pretty decent about this property returning somewhere between high single digit to low teens barring anything extraordinary (market downturn, unforeseen capex, difficult eviction, etc).

I believe McMann has tried hard to meet the target dates in a difficult market to secure funds which led to unforeseen delays.

Make sure and hold money in reserves for unforeseen problems such as evictions, a new A/C unit, a new roof, etc.

In the unforeseen circumstance I'm unable to close, I would just reimburse the application fee. 

In regards to your question, since this is your first investment property I would suggest a lower deductible to help protect yourself against a large (unforeseen) out of pocket expense.

You buy a property that has enough profits in it to cover unforeseen expenses, and then......you save!