The first consideration should be:Would I rather have $190k cash (perceived equity) or X$/month in cash flow per year?

I noted in the beginning of the post that the property is in what I perceive to be a great area to keep it rented regularly. 

Literally you can hand someone a deal with the complete roadmap, and many will still not take action.Coming from contribution is so much more valuable vs. staying silent to reduce your perceived risk of losing business.Does that mean you should answer every single person's basic questions?

Testimonials, appeal to emotion, tapping into desires, telling stories, perceived scarcity, calls to action, subtle shaming, urgency, you name it.  

Someone retired can live very comfortably off of that.Someone in their 20's trying to quit their job and go real estate full time is generally willing to take on massive headache properties for perceived higher yields to try to build up ongoing cash flow so that they can sustain themselves and break free from the rat race.    

Where ever homes are "perceived" cheaper and there is turnover with prices still increasing - look in those areas.  

I’m super ambitious and don’t let anything hold me back, but this situation has been the biggest perceived obstacle for quite a while now as I’ve waited and waited for the market to turn around.

The "perceived" savings are rarely worth the aggravation, and many times they do an incomplete title search, with a title policy that Exempts (section B) unrecorded, but findable liens.

So the Lender will either need to price the loan package to cover the perceived risk, or pass on it altogether (more likely the latter, as it sounds like you've experienced).I know you're just starting out, but really focus on building a strong, trusting relationship with a lender.

I agree with you that some people will perceive "investor" as negative.