I would walk away with up to $75K cash and of course pay Uncle Sam his share.2.

I personally know @Obed Calixte and would recommend you reach out to him as he's done a great job with past out of state investors and can help walk you through the necessary steps.

Would like to be close by walking paths/nature if possible.

Once you feel secured in that, I would encourage you to start going to different areas, walk through open houses and seeing the homes gives you an interesting perspective for what to expect and then you can engage with agent and lenders to find out the right fit for you.

Personally guaranteeing the loan may make it difficult for your to "walk away" from the business. 

I have walked away from deals similar to this scenario...being that there is a lease in place that makes it tough!

Ok, so I have a seller that wants to walk away with 40K and have free rent for 4 years.  

I was walking my dog, and he insisted on going down a street I really didn't want to go down. 

Commit to walking through open-house showing on your weekends, and then following up to see what they were sold for.

If their response is anything but an automatic flat "no" you CAN make that deal eventually even without an agent (get a good title company that will walk you through the direct sale process).