Personally I'd probably professionally and respectfully point out that she is full of BS and ask to see the quoted law she is referring to for your future reference....then let it go......take the partial payment, and start marketing the property.

Homes bought as primaries and then turned into rentals (without considering them as a future rental at time of purchase) rarely work out well.

You are bound to make mistakes like this in the future with a lease like that.

And does this limit what I can apply these funds towards in the future? 

Keep Me Posted For Some Joint-Venture Deals In The Future!

I'm going to do it on my own but like you said I will help the fellow agents and build good relationships for future business.

Also check with your electric company to be listed as the landlord so that you would be notified of a future tenant does not pay.

Acquire the business owner mindset now by doing and giving your future earnings purpose.

And knowing that there's no future returns or tax breaks to be had.Currently in North Dallas, I'm thinking about buying a house closer to work (Downtown Dallas) but anything even remotely decent is 35% and more of my monthly earnings.

For us it was better to keep the mortgage to help build our credit for future deals, but also because we wanted to buy property and get to a specific cash flow.