I know that your real life experience will be more valuable than anything written in official sites.

I live in a smaller town of 14k people surrounded by a few thriving steel mills. 

You don’t need a brand new stainless steel model to attract tenants.

He brings up some very valuable points.  

Steel doors and tile floors valued at under $50,000.

I've been following the posts here for a while and while some offer valuable insight I'm hoping to get situation specific advice.In general the plan is to buy a SFR for 800k with 10% down.

Maybe he will agree on lower it a bit. and worst thing that could happen you don't get the deal, ( no worries) their Millions of houses. move on and polish your skills, and with that, one day you will become valuable to an investor that will be willing to partner with you.Wish you the best, and I acknowledge you for taking action, I assume you are desperate for your dreams to come quick, but like Warren Buffet Said :“You can't produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.”Develop that Baby, and you will see him one-day giving fruits...Regards 

I ran across a property where the land is more valuable than the structure.

The conversation should be around why this is valuable to him and how you will bring him value he can't find in his current 401k - not how you will sell him on the deal.If he is not comfortable, have an open discussion on the specific points and try to come to a resolution.

How valuable is having zero of your own money invested in the deal?