Obviously I came to the table with some REI history and solid deals.

That will show that you have something to bring to the table.

During negotiations, Seller had a family death which took them away from the negotiating table.

I would not have put this in my business plan, but with the recent dip in interest rates combined with a suddenly lower insurance policy I saw the opportunity to pull some cash off the table without dramatically changing my PITI. 

Fixed expenses are your property tax bill as you know how much it will increase annually, insurance (to a degree), and interest (as you can calculate it with an amortization table).Since the "GOAL" (or at least my goal) is to avoid Calis punishing income tax, I will probably need to Refi the property AND/OR make sweeping upgrades to change my cost/expense basis.  

Yes, some people refi out of our note, and we're cool with that since we've basically been collecting interest the whole time due to standard amortization tables. 

@Jacob Sampson  This is a hot neighborhood when I used to live there in 2009 I used to pay $800 a month now the same apartment pays $1, 700 in 2019 as you can see on the table below yes the cash flow will be low on the first year but because of income growth which is higher than inflation this a good long term investment. 

You have to bring something to the table, in this case the property is your contribution.

I go to craigslist if I want to buy an expensive bicycle, maybe a coffee table or a book shelf, NOT A LENDER.Go to your local REIA and there should be plenty of hard money lenders.

@Jason Scott - Hope this doesn't sound gimmicky when I say this but there has never been a better time to take money off the table in the equities market and shelter it in a solid RE deal.