A Colleague who does realestate business in NJ had a auctioned property and looking to sale somebody with his profit as he was not able to pay all cash .

REthink look to be the giants in the space.

My investor responded today and is not able to commit.

You will need an attorney to help you get through the legal system and a really good reason why you were not able to pay up.

Know that worst case scenario you will have to stay in that duplex and make those payments if you are not able to improve it and refi, sell, or rent for acceptable cash flow. 

I am sure there are reputable companies out there who would not advertise it if they were not able to follow through.

Sounds like it's a bit risky on your own if you're not able to secure the loan on your own and also haven't been able to save enough cash to come up with 25% down.

The issue with VR in Phoenix is that in the winter time, everyone will sell out, however if you don't rent out the summer and fall consistently your likely not able to meet your forecasted revenue.I would do a comparison of renting out your unit full time vs short term.  

I feel like I must be missing something or explained something incorrectly because I am not able to match up the benefit of a refi.

(One of my rules of thumb is: If you're not able to get at least 1%/m gross rent return, look elsewhere!)