I'd need to know more information to determine myself if I were assisting you (hypothetically, of course, since we aren't allowed to advertise our services through this medium), but from the surface level it does sound like you do qualify for the 121 exclusion.

You can't have plywood as your wall surface in a kitchen.

How much skin in the game? 

The more monthly debt you have, the lower the purchasing power.You also don't have much for savings, there are often surprises when owning a property that you should have some reserves for.I'm not a financial advisor, but on the surface, I would sell the car for $15K, put $7K towards the credit card and the rest into savings.Also, with the $7K in credit card debt, you need to ask yourself "why do I have this debt?"

They seem to require high quality materials and  craftsmanship to maintain a level surface.

Navigating the financing nuances is where I'll need the greatest help, since there are 110 ways to skin the real estate purchasing cat, and none of them are totally clear to me (yet).

Also, you are right about wanting to have a deposit from the tenant, so they have some skin in the game to take better care of your property.

It should also make potential LP's more comfortable knowing you have considerable skin in the game plus the fact you are profiting from the merits of the actual deal at time of sale rather than collecting fees.

Some want to see skin in the game. 

Mold grows into a surface mildew grows on top of a surface.