.#2  MINDSET:  Just like some people will NEVER become real estate investors regardless of time, money, related profession, - MOST people will never become real estate investors.   

"Before borrowing money from a friend, decide which you need most".

If so make they have their earnest money held by the attorney and not the agents broker.

You can get more money on either of those avenues..

Not sure how much money % I can save if I do it myself too? 

Even if you break even, you will lose money every month it sits vacant, when you need repairs, property management, etc.

It’s concerning as I have a lot of money tied up in this.

You will need money to put down on the property.  

Quote from @Martin Jones: YouTube gurus will tell you to borrow money from someone else, but that's bad advice for a beginner.

So even if you had a buy out agreement negotiated up front and execute that buy out agreement, the bank would still require him to be guarantor unless something drastic changed on your side financially.The best scenario here would be to purchase and rehab the property using a hard money lender or bridge lender.