Would really appreciate if anyone has some additional suggestions that they find works well or didn't work well.Thank you in advanced!

In terms of getting into apartment complexes and large transactions - it's much easier than you think.Real estate is filled with opportunities to deploy capital, but in the same time is filled with fast-talking snake oil men that will happily take your money towards a "fund" so you own a portion of a large portfolio... only to find out the fund's performance is below par, your money is locked out, and the only person making money is the fund manager from the management fee they've locked you into. 

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

- What tool, if any, do you currently use that you find lacking in important features or that is difficult to work with?

One way to better your odds is to find a partner and do this together.  

I'm still learning a lot about this and our initial thoughts were to find a place with tenants.

what will be a good place to find such a partner?

Now, this is not all agents/realtors, and that's why it's imperative to find someone who you trust and looks to build long-term relationships, and not someone just in it for the quick money, but it definitely was a chunk of them.

The problem I am having is that I am finding it very difficult to come up with a downpayment of 20% to purchase new properties.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?