I finally convinced him to listen to one of my audiobooks (rich dad poor dad) which he did, and he seemed to enjoy it and became intrigued.

And-hold back a 10% retention until you get the final sign off. 

Finally, as far as I know one can still get equity out of the property through heloc

You may want to get your attorney or the sellers attorney involved to finalize this tenant issue but you should make sure that if Yuit get it under contract, make sure the contract is subject to possession at close of escrow meaning the seller is responsible for removing the tenant prior to you closing to grant you sole possession.You should also make sure you have a final physical inspection as buying sight unseen with an uncooperative tenant could result in major costs you are not aware of which could ruin the deal.

I added it to my alerts and when it was finally listed i made an offer.

I'm breaking out of my comfort zone here, and hoping to gather a little bit of advice before I finalize a deal on a 14 unit mobile home park.

Finally, I found one thread where someone was told by a realtor they needed to live in it for 5 years.Help?

I finally found someone through a mutual friend.

:D We have a location in mind though but it's not finalized.

One full time agent in my office was excited that in her 3rd year she finally hit a NET income of $30,000 after all expenses and commission cuts paid to the Broker. 3 years until she as making slightly less than the salary of a local video rental store manager (they made $38,000).