The price has been lowered $5k, and it's pushing mid-September.

The rate is lower if you will be living in one of the units.Hope that helps, best of luck!

I would prefer a safe first investment with a lower return to high risk.

Is now the time to get a HEL or HELOC since rates are lower than if they are a rental? 

Stay out of bonds in a rising rate environment, but get chunks out of mutual funds/equities for sure.I'd convert to a Roth or withdraw more during lower income years if I could.

I’m buying a property subject to the existing loan and would like to refinance it in 6 months to cash out the owner and pay off the current mortgage. ( because i know i can get a lower interest rate than what he’s paying) How would I go about doing that?

We price based on $/sqft of the comps in the area, which is close to $1/sqft, but highly dependent on the property...for instance, we have a 5 bd rm property at 2100+ sqft that has avg on the lower end.

Whatever the occupancy is today you should plan for it to go lower in the first year if there are undesirable residents that you need to cycle out.

If you take it subject to then you can seller finance it to him on a land contract for his existing financing.Check with a local real estate attorney to make sure all the documents are in order.If he needs to refinance to create lower payments then that would fall on you if you take it subject to.

If I were lucky enough to find another property within the required time frame and make the 1031 exchange, I would have to still have the thoughts of future tax payments in the back of my mind for possibly years( unless I died, then it would not matter).