I've seen several other lenders reply in this chain, including myself, who could all provide you with rough term scenarios, but first I'd talk with your current broker and lender to see where the real issues stemmed from.

Exploring real estate  opportunities there. 

If yes proceed if no, get off the phone they are all going to try and sell you a different product and you don't have time for that.

Should I wait or should I do it now and not try to time the market?

They rely on the home owner to do the coordinating, but they both expect submissions and approvals from each other all at the same time.

Newbie to real-state and looking to learn ahead of first rental we are planning to find/acquire in ~12-18mo. 

At the time I purchased this condo, I was in my early 20's and the idea of signing a document that committed me to anything for 30 years freaked me out, because I hadn't even been alive for 30 years!

Real estate agents will always steer you into the part of an area they are familiar with.

But, to retire off of real estate, one either needs a lot of time to pass, or needs a large base of capital.

If you do invest in a condo, I would suggest looking at if it is approved or not ahead of time.