Also, since the property is vacant, we knew the Seller would want to close ASAP (so as not to incur carrying costs for too long), so we proposed a 19-day closing (13 days from waiving the financing condition), which the Seller jumped at.All this to emphasize my original comment that it really depends on what you're interested in, and what your means are.

That means you will either need to sit on the sidelines from time to time and wait until buy-and-holds make more sense, be fexible and adapt your strategies to the changing market conditions (eg: transitioning from buy-and-hold to flips, and back again), or seek investments out of state.

I'll explain that this is the most my finance guys could go on a property like this in this condition and in this neighborhood, BUT I could offer more if he'd consider helping with the financing.

It's in terrible condition to say the least.

If you don't meet these conditions, then the seller needs to withhold the tax (known as FIRPTA) which is now 15% if the sale is after February 17, 2016.  

This is not possible with a land-sale contract and is therefore a prohibited means of acquiring property.

Then they would be locked into the same terms and conditions that the original tenant is.

With good screening and some luck you can minimise rental losses, and if you only buy good units in good condition you get a better tenant.

What is the condition of the property compared to the one that just sold?

They are in awesome condition and all are being rented out for $500 a month.