Johnny, I know exactly which lender your working with.I am going to tell you, there are better options.Look around a bit, That prepay is 5% fixed for 3 years.I wouldn't pay 22k to buy a rate down in a decreasing rate environment.A 7.75% on a 3,2,1 declining prepayment is a better bet. 

Of the options I’ve purchased, a majority expired unexercised, mainly because they were “flyers” for me on a bet on a beneficial event happening that wasn’t likely to happen.

You’ll probably want an opinion of title at a minimum and a much “safer” course is title insurance on both properties.  

Best bet is to come here and see how things are.

Just like @Jason Wray said, finding a good agent or already knowing one is your best bet.

I run a call center for Real Estate where we call for investors and I can tell ya, your best bet with such limited time is cold calling targeted lists (high equity within your buy box) for 3-4 hrs every day.

Your best bet right now is to live in it and enjoy it as your primary.

You bet!

Owning the property outright allowed him to address those costs comfortably and even negotiate a better deal on materials since he wasn’t rushing to meet a lenders timeline.Given that you want to learn and scale gradually, cash is a safer way to build your confidnece and investment foundation.

Perhaps unprecedented back to back hurricanes will mean that all bets are off and the demand metrics will change moving forward...