Creative financing can help sellers make more money, solve pain points, gets them the money they need, and help them avoid a high tax bill.

The pain point was that the seller grew up in the home.

While it pains me to say it, I think that if you are patient, and watch that market over the next 12-18 months, you will find yourself in one of the greatest buying opportunities in America. 

With the most difficult buyers it can lead to last minute re-trades over inconsequential amounts of money but is just a pain to deal with.

Yes, managing definitely can be a pain.

At the same time I find myself participating in other forums I used to ignore, like the taxes and short term rentals forums, because those have become bigger focus areas (and pain points!)

They are very thorough in loan boarding, which can be a pain, but that is actually a good thing.

You won't regret keeping this after 5 years, but you may feel the pain of it the first 5 years. 

I'm a licensed lender in Washington (and many other states), I invest as a "side hustle" and grew up in Seattle, so I feel your pain.  

Anyone claiming people are going to feel the pain later by "sitting on the sidelines" is completely amiss of the real problem.