Pretty unique situation here: Purchased my first home because my roommate was tired of renting.

Appreciate any insights or guidance from the community on navigating this situation. 

DO NOT let the applicants walk the property by themselves, especially if your existing tenant still has their belongings at the property (this could create some messy situations). 

The price points, attraction of the area, and large base of SF Homes to work with, anything that touches or is situated near I-40 shall continue to reap the benefits of being on the I-40 Line, as such Winston is no exception.

One bullet dodged, and a lesson learned -- research more than just the tax situation before bidding.Around this time I also learned that a Tax Deed isn't really a "clear title" for selling the property, because it's very difficult to get title insurance on a tax deed. 

Beware that 1) some lenders might not lend in Tulum because they deem it too risky given the oversupply situation and 2) other lenders won't lend if the purchase price is below $750k because you can't get title insurance in Tulum specifically.Finally, beware also that there's a huge difference between a lifestyle purchase and a (profitable) investment purchase, the latter being all about numbers.

How would you go about this situation?

I have 375k into the deal, rented the property for two years at a 140kgross and will pay the owner off that note in about 11 mos. the property is now around 650-700k. depends on your situation but for the nominal difference your talking I say go for it but if you're leveraging the upfront you need to cash in the overage for the appraisal and vice versa if your cash up front then have the seller carry a note from my experience- it also shows that the seller believes in the project by doing so if they won't carry a note separately id potentially walk but thats because we do mostly cash deals and the inability of them to believe in what I am willing turn me off to the deal when your talking about this gap

You don’t know their situation.

Odd sizes and difficult situations.