Do you think we're taking too much of a gamble with what we know?

You can literally transfer the funds to your checking account and gamble it all away.

Last year $1T was repatriated back to the US from off shore. $1T in federal hands would most likely be wasted. $1T in private hands will be invested in expansion.

I have a team of inexpensive offshore assistants who handle exactly this.

It’s kind of a gamble but I guess you can make an educated bet based on the market, supply/demand, and the quality of management.If you didn’t do that then I do think they’re due back their deposit.On the positive side, it sounds like you have a nice property in a popular area if it rented that quick..Best of luck! 

Horrible timing for us to decide to really step up the investment game and gambling on REI for me and my wife!

) LOL. and I laid out the risk factors. and I got 50 up votes.. so you can see there is a divide here on BP between as many doors at what ever cost or method you can get them and risk does not matter because Cash flow rentals are the safest thing to buy in the US and appreciation Is gambling etc etc. 

IE on the west coast escrow officers went home to workand title plants are off shore .. the Phillipines.. so your title searchs are done there with the title officer reviewing and they can work at home all our title plants are electronic and have been for decades.One thing we dont do much of here is checking on UTLS.. thats an east coast thing.  

I may have gotten a slightly better deal had I gambled but It’s not worth the risk of not refinancing earlier.

Particularly with a 3-year window, that is just gambling.