@Caleigh McDonough age old question.How long will it take you to save the extra funds vs how much the property may increase in price over that time?

Some things matter more than saving an extra $200/month because you chose to live in a market you didn't necessarily like.

and there are so many extra things you still have to pay for after I payed the 27k, it is ridiculous.

I've reached out to lenders here on Bigger Pockets- but their rates & terms seem high (DSCR or just not good terms)- I qualify for a conventional loan, but my DTI is almost maxed so why pay an extra 2-3% DSCR when I don't have too. 

I don’t have any debt besides my mortgage fortunately or unfortunately however you look at it, and I’m not opposed to using my extra funds to buy down my mortgage but I’m afraid it won’t lower my DTI quite enough.

A lot of them charge much higher and include extra "material" but if my experience tells m anything, you won't need that. 

It's easy to obtain, costs very little, and doesn't require extra, on-going effort to maintain.

But what you pay extra for those lots doesn't justify the return in rents you're going to get.

If the note holder purchased the note at a discount he can accelerate his profits and increase his ROI by offering the borrower an incentive to pay off the note early, or to make e extra payments.  

Like if you want "property management" as part of your software its extra.