Then some private people might be ready to fund this.Is this a sell lease back? 

If you do not have the funds to close the deal and the buyer backs out then you will either have to come up with the funds, terminate or talk the seller into extending the contract to find another buyer.

Put some money away every month into your "capital acquisition" fund.

@Matthew CopelandTax Liens and Crowd Funding are pretty much the best options for a smaller account.Most investors will work within the standard financial services space to grow their savings and then switch to a self-directed account once they have the type of funding necessary to participate in more significant non-traditional assets such as real estate and notes.

I do think networking opportunities probably arise more with proof of funds than a license..money talks.

Also, an addendum is a counter offer....so it's possible you gave her the ability to cancel without recourse when you tried to structure it to close without her bring funds to the table. 

But one unit, the upstairs loft unit, which is considered to be fancier and more desirable, didn't get rented.

Most of your reasonably desirable residential real estate is here, so you compete with a lot of would-be homeowners.

If there is not enough funds to immediately pay a contractor to clean it, then a special assessment is needed.

I've now read a couple real estate books (currently reading Anson Young's Finding and Funding Great Deals), and have begun to develop a solid foundation of real estate knowledge.