With renters; you bet.

You can bet he'll be even less responsive after you've agreed to do business with him.

Your best bet is a small local bank.

If you bring a polite attitude and a spirit of refusing to accept no, I'd bet you'll have some success.

The right choice is perhaps dictated by whether you want the benefits of current return or want to bet on future value.

Is there any leeway in terms of having the home on the market (and not used as either a rental or primary residence) when calculating the 2-of-5 years for the capital gains exemption?

You don't need a calculator or even a pencil to figure out that the best move here is to just not pay the taxes on this parcel and let it go.

Here is the mortgage calculator from bankrate:http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/mortgages/mortgage-calculator.aspxPut in 280000 for mortgage amount, 30 years term and say 3% interest (very low even for today), and the payment is $1180.49 for just principal and interest.

I use an App called Deal or No Deal Real Estate Calculator to quickly project ROI, Cash Needed and cash flow.

Figure out the average monthly rent for that unit, take out 35-40% in expenses, then subtract out debt and that's your cash flow.Then calculate the total cash flow annually for that property and plug in your downpay cash in and initial rehab done if any and you will get your cash on cash roi.