It doesn't fulfill 1/2 what she was aiming for and relocated the laundry and mudroom further from convenience.

You are bringing a major convenience to the seller, in that he doesn't have to wait 6/12/18/24 months to get his house sold or worry about marketing to find sellers, he can walk away and have it off his hands in a matter of days/weeks. 

Justin, I am a broker in the Denver area also, would love to get with you PM me at your convenience

I'm thinking this is a convenient way for the CU to limit their exposure, at my equity expense!

Other options might include: getting an unsecured personal loan to cover the $20k, persuading a friend or family member to loan me the money, or cobbling together the money from random sources like credit card convenience checks and maybe a Lending Club loan.Problem is, while my credit is good and I have a decent amount of cash to work with, my income is low-ish and comes from four (!)

It's gamble that's worth it at the price they've bought it at.

That location is probably one of the best places to be in America to be an investor.Locate in a market that is convenient for you and is popular as far as sales go.  

Investing is not gambling.  

Just in the last two years, we have already seen an increase of Millennial-targeted luxury rental buildings that offer high-end conveniences.

Then, whenever it's convenient or I'm already out (or I have time), sometime during the day I drive by the houses.