The future is renovating the master bath.

Welcome to BP and PA in the future. 

I just want to understand realistic comparison of reg sale vs reasonable and maybe more attractive seller financing structuring taking into account future short/intermediate term interest rate trends and Time value of money (that I am a fan of learning more).As a side note, being a health care professional I am amazed and always puzzled by financing and real estate.

If you are going to live there anyway, then it may make sense, plus you will hopefully enjoy the appreciation, and potentially be able to pull out some equity in the future with a refi or heloc.

Realize this is the historical norm and if the future behaves similar to the aggregate of the last 60 years this is by far the most likely scenario.Property is fairly stable: Tenant purchases and has some of the rent applied to the purchase. 

You are in the right place to learn everything about investing and managing your future portfolio.

If the owner is up to it you could get a "lease option" deal which you rent for a while and then buy the property at a future date that both sides can live with. 

I didn't even think MTM was favorable for the landlord before I moved from Canada because it would (in my mind) create havoc in terms of predicting your future cash flows. 

Timberland Bank is investor-friendly and they are a portfolio lender, so it might be worth establishing a relationship with them for future investing needs.

ALL of it goes into my "future to do" list :)DC