You have no appreciation upside potential.I believe they haven’t missed a payment since they started in 2007 or 2008.

sort of guess they can dissolve anytime but procuring cause would apply or something, albeit potentially difficult to trackPart why I think upfront payment will not work well, nor the fee-based where it’s more like attorneys.  

I have a management company handling my houses and I have not missed a rent payment from section 8 in years.

We're finding tons of success right now with MTR's within a 5 mile radius of target locations to get properties closer to cash-flowing and I'd encourage you to start there as tenants are more reliable and properties are in nicer neighborhoods.  

In my experience, my investors who expect to get in/out of the deal quickly don't look at rate as they'll be in a deal for 2-4 months and the benefit of no up front costs saved by paying no points far outweighs the difference in monthly payment from the higher rate. 

It sounded like two separate payments.

Me and my wife have saved a sizeable down payment and have a little money set aside for business emergencies as well.

They may need to pay their agent out of their own pocket and they may not have the money for that in addition to the down payment (buy-side commish is usually baked into the sales price and paid at closing from funds to the seller, so the buyer can roll it into their loan and finance it rather than paying out of pocket).

You could consider offering to have the shower inspected by a licensed professional to provide a written report confirming its safety and functionality to address your tenant's concerns.If your tenant continues to refuse to pay rent, you may have grounds to evict them for non-payment of rent.

But, similar to an sfr adjusted up for a 2nd unit, this is typically not the most reliable method.