Turned out my "seasoned" partner didn't have such a good grasp either, so the budget was off by nearly six figures.  

You will learn tons and then have a better grasp.

Inexperienced or conservative investors do not grasp the concept that every property has two distinctly different income streams.

Hello Michael, Most agents should have a good grasp on the rental market in their area.

I can't quite grasp how challenging that part will or won't be.- As a last ditch scenario, if I can only secure 1 property for whatever reason, I'd put the entire $140k into it, and get a mortgage on the rest (likely around $200k on the mortgage). 

My small brain can't grasp the concept that something nobody actually needs is worth so much

I don’t feel I have a good grasp on this concept and have been looking online for other explanations, but it still has yet to click.

thanks@Christopher Phillips it’s a smaller hard money portfolio lender so they actually got back to us fairly quickly and seem to have a pretty good grasp on the actual properties.

I don't really have a grasp of how much cash I should offer. 

This will allow you to get a better grasp of the industry and the people you will be working with.