Does anyone have any suggestions on what analysis I could do to verify my if my idea of using the townhome as an equity vehicle is feasible? 

@Mark Sewell as to what happens to older apartment properties when developers verify?

First of all, I always do full credit and criminal background checks, and verify their rental history with previous landlords. 

The ROI for San Diego buy n hold is verifiably one of the best in the nation. 

As long as the appropriate docs are in place with the lender (so you're fully aware of all the terms/conditions of the loan) and you have a verified exit strategy (refinance or sell at a price that would cover the debt), I would go with that option. 

Once this is verified you can then refi from the commercial world into ( for a fixed rate longer term loan as commercial loans are typically 5 year balloons that reset after 5 with current rates )  the secondary market.

i do notice though that redfin has identical if not the exact same info as the mls listing, which zillow doesn't seem to have. great info, but do lmk about how to find similar prices on redfin like i do on zillow. thanks 

A detailed walk-through inspection should take place to verify they are caring for it properly and to see if there are any minor maintenance issues to deal with.

I'm being a broken record now but the utilities and services all sound low too, call each one to verify.

First and foremost, they verified the source of the lead,  through a front desk type deal.