Obviously you can becuase you live there, but understand that that can cause more stress too especially if the tenants know you're the owner AND you're living there. 

Finding a lender who understood what we were trying to accomplish was one of the more stressful and parts of the process.

The resources i have , the team is what i would like to solidify What team members i need - Professional real estate Tax accountant , that knows how to reduce taxes to $ 0 little by little . ( tom wheelwright ) Mortgage brokers who can get loans for me at decent rates with good amortization .

There are only two possible buyers, a homeowner and/or REI.a - Homeowner is the only one of the two that would pay current price...that is if they were interested in buying  house with a tenant in it...which they are not.b - REI not likely to pay full price because the property wouldn't cash flow then.If seller/REI wants to sell, they need to at a reduced price...which is all profit anyway, so they would agree to it. 

I've read relocating is the 2nd most stressful time we modern humans experience, so it's not something to be taken lightly. 

Will an increase of temperatures (as Winter ends), reduce the rate of the spread?

Then stress test your analyses to assume that the market will be worse at reposition (perhaps a .5 spread... really depends on the length of rehab... but .5 should cover most scenarios in this current environment). 

Is there ways to help reduce those costs other than upgrading to energy efficient appliances in the future. i did see a mention of the Clean Reads program for water in the Cleveland area for more accurate measurements if anyone can help explain that a little more.

Proceeds won't go to reduce their balance, they will simply foreclose.

The rate we were told was 5.5%, and that's with paying an additional 3,535 at closing to reduce it to that.