By putting 30% down it will put you in a much better interest rate bracket than 20% down and you will be able to use the credit to buy the rate down to 7%, when it's 0.5% rate reduction per point it's a 2 year break even and makes sense to buy the rate down even farther if you come out of pocket. 

You also have more latitude for negotiating with the borrower for a loan mod in terms of principal reduction and/or arrearage tactics, since your "true" equity is the current value of the home. 

I see a lot less price reductions and a lot of new listings are very close to the mortgage amounts7.

Most the property has been rehabbed, its mainly an expense reduction/management play.

It'll have to be an ARM with a higher interest rate" and NOT had them come back to the seller wanting a steep price reduction, if not out of the deal entirely. 

I sold an office building last year and the buyer "retraded" after their inspection when they discovered that 6 of the 8 AC units were about 20 years old and were near the end of their life.They estimated the need to eventually replace the units to cost in the $50k+ range and asked for a $50k reduction on the purchase price.

We had to ask for a $100,000 price reduction and tweak some lease terms due to an iffy roof report.

Your mortgage payments include interest, your financial equity is the amount of principal reduction as amortized.

We made a price reduction request, they countered and I requested we meet in the middle.

Are they euphoric because days on market is very low and there is hardly any price adjustments or are they optimistic but willing to capitulate to reality because days on market are long and multiple, sizeable price reductions have occurred repeatedly in the neighborhood?