We take another $1k to $2k at closing for the balance of the down payment.  15 years of maintenance free cash flow is great.   

If it's a local bank offer 20% down and you assume the balance.

I think individual investors make decisions based on their personal investment objectives and on each individual property because they don't have the option of adjusting decimal points on a spreadsheet to make things balance at the end of the day.This is a neighborhood that I care about and want the next owner to pay attention to the property and the tenants.

In my opinion, the best way to improve your credit score over time is to establish at least 4 tradelines, even if they have to be secured credit cards, and keep the balances low, below 40% of available credit, and of course make the payments on time.

The first lien holder has agreed to a price of $32,000, on a balance due of $90,000.

The balance sheet is on LLCs, not me.

How do you go about selecting one (obviously you'd want an effective one, but a balance of cost too, I'm sure)?

No, because there will always be a tenant that runs outrageously high bills at some point and balances it out.The 50% rule accounts for all expenses other than the mortgage.

How are you going to balance out all of the negatives which you listed for the rental market?  

We also maintain excellent credit history (our FICOs hover at just under or just over 800) so we are able to get loans at great rates and we hold several credit cards with high limits (20K or more) which we pay off at the end of each month and we never carry a balance on them.