The tenant just signed a new 1 year lease but has also complained that the driveway needs relaying and that the deck is falling to pieces so guess this is a ploy to start negotiations on selling price.I understand that they pay the rent for a given time, plus extra that we hold as a deposit/down payment so assume I can get that contract drawn up by a real estate attorney who can also work on closing once the agreed upon timeframe ends (is this better than a realtor or should I just go with one and pay the 5%?

Now that I have such low equity in it after a year, and I’m moving should I try to pay it down to 20% really fast with the extra cash flow, or just leave part of my VA loan tied up in it for 30 years?

You may still end up paying this but make them earn it.

Our current Citibank pays 0.12% interest on savings in the money market savings account.Time to move cash out of that bank.Where do you think is the best place to park cash and earn more %.      100K  for about 1 year.

make sure you get an extra set of eyes on the property, specially if it's your first. 

Word of caution, trust is earned (by both parties) so start slowly.

However if you want to add an extra lawyer of experience in the process you might just get a commercial mortgage broker to help arrange everything for you.

Thinking it might show an extra level of professionalism and result in more offers/money

Hi Gabriel Rodriguez you could also consider investing with a multifamily real estate syndicator, have no extra work or worries, and make something like 9% CoC and 15% IRR as an example. $50k - $100k can get you started with most.

I love the idea of creating jobs for people and allowing them to earn a living.