That's a hefty discount off list and the numbers till work... it could be your numbers weren't right from the start.If time is an issue, you could offer lower and faster close.

You can take a loan against your 401k and pull the lower of the two: up to 50% of the value or $50,000. 

Tells me a lot of work out there for mid to lower income categories which is great

One of the nice things about seller financing is that sellers and buyers have broad flexibility in creating a win-win.Many seller financing sales use 5-10 year balloons so if your friend, the seller, wants a structure where he gets paid off in a time frame less than 30yrs, you certainly have the option to buy it with a balloon loan from the seller and than sell it with a baloon loan to a buyer.   

Much lower barriers to entry, but I just heard another major employer is pulling out thousands of jobs.This one is in my town so easy to self-manage. 

You may not be able to hit the rents of the bigger cities but I found the cost to purchase was lower so in the end you get the same cash flow.

In the same time frame I can close the sale on a retail center and make 6 figures in commission representing a buyer.Broker highest to lowest return on time:1.

:(Are there NOI improvements you can make, eliminate expenses, improve turn over (lower it), reduce damage etc etc. 

It might be a little more work for me to close my loans, but it nets me significantly lower interest rates.

If you can find ways to do that by raising rents / income and/or lowering expenses, you can find hidden gems.