I’m totally open to dropping the price even further, but now my confidence in my comp-assessing ability’s been shaken a little, lol.

@Dave Foster Thanks. 

I'll ask him what comps he saw that gave him that confidence.

Anyways, this inspires confidence that there are things I can do myself. 

If you did a short term lease and was confident that the unit could command more rent that may be a good opportunity to increase at renewal or replacement rent.

If the condition is that bad, I would feel reasonably confident that circumstances beyond your control prevented you from having the money to make the property habitable.  

I am confident as to my basis calculation on the rental.  

That's my main goal and I want to learn as much as possible so that I can confidently purchase my first property and be prepared as much as possible.  

As an example, if the investment is $30k and the property will sell for more than $60k, that is very solid collateralization of that loan and that first lien position and promissory note will give that investor a good degree of confidence in the deal so long as you presented yourself well and they trust that you will be able to perform.Similarly, if your deal has 50-70% equity on top of what they are investing, you should have a solid offer to present so long as you present it properly.I hope that helps. 

@Al Williamson  I love your enthusiasm and vote of confidence.