What happens what one party falls behind:  If buyer cant come through the agreement then they will loose Earnest Money and if seller cant come through then there is a fee/cost of marketing .

WHAT I HAVE:  FINANCIALLY:  (1)  $10,000 in cash to invest in RE that I can afford to loose  (2)  $93,000+ base salary, not including bonus, commissions and over-time which I do earn! 

Cut them loose immediately.

One thing to note when looking at the individual markets, you can make or loose money in any market.

I was bound to find a cheaper place to live where I could wash dishes if I needed to and still pay rent.

Plus, if you loose a paying tenant for $50/mo what's the guarantee that you will find another paying tenant for a higher rent

I feel like this logic seems to be reasonable to help me have a upper bound when assessing if a property is worth pursuing.  

First, government policy, loose money, and human psychology combined to push the home ownership rate to nearly 70% - nearly 5% higher than the "natural" rate of home ownership in the US - about 65% over the long term.Second, there was a related spike in vacancy at apartments.  

Lenders are not bound by your P&S so seems a waste to try that route. 

Once there is good flooring in place, no holes in walls or floors, no loose wires, no broken windows and any decks attached to the house are in serviceable condition.