Good luck in your RE journey! 

Everything to make the seller interested, and for you look like a bona fide buyer. emails or phone calls just discussing numbers are not sincere.

With the re fi part...

You can call the agent's managing broker and discuss the situation; however, it may be too late for that property

It's a serious, serious waste of time and money (I'm being redundant here, I know)I've assigned slightly over 75 lease option deals in 10 different states, and not once have I ever spent a dime of money marketing my deals (okay, this might be a bit of a stretch, because I've spent money on local proxy IP's and local phone numbers to create a new craigslist phone verified account, in order to keep my deals live on craigslist without getting ghosted by them, but that's a much deeper discussion).It is incredibly easy to find lease option buyers.

If you'd like to grab a coffee at some point on Saturday in Merced to discuss the market/potential deals, let me know.Brad

The second (actually maybe the first) discussion would be with Iredell county permits office.

San Diego historically has had a great ROI for buy and hold investors so I think it has been an easy market. clearly I think San Diego is a good to great RE market but I suggest you look up San Diego RE appreciation for any duration you desire and calculate the return assuming 25% down.  

I must say I'm a little jealous, RE photography looks like fun!!

You may need to look into the laws and regulations on he property you are discussing before you have to enter a war battle with the city of Houston.