Bob, I have gone through that exercise and came up empty.

I'm closing on a property 100% remotely. 

My loan officer agreed that providing a lease agreement before closing will help, but I also need to provide a solid reason for why we are downsizing to this extent.What reasons can I give for making such a significant downsize?

I'm actually from Sonoma County, but it didn't show up on the banner.

I offered $100,000 (buyer paid closing costs)and he paid $115,000.

I ended up just getting a second hot water tank & sub-metering.  

While the return is still there, we ended up holding this property longer than we had planned.

The coincidences are adding up now to where I'm very suspicious. 

If you are changing careers and your income will go down significantly (you said change, I implied decreasing), why not keep the money as a back up/emergency fund in case you need it?

The mortgage will be paid off at closing out of the sales proceeds. you’ll get whatever’s left after that.