Thanks all for the great insight. 

My biggest concern in locking in liquid capital in an account for a year with the possibility of "no deal" and having the ability to invest it somewhere else.Any thoughts or insight would be greatly appreciated.  

And the seller would have to report any capital gain on their taxes for that year But since he has renovated the place from top to bottom he would fall into the "significant renovation" rule and if a traditional buyer bought the house for 200,000 then the buyer would also have to pay 30,000 in HST?

ANY insight or personal stories would be appreciated

$11,256.40 yr Hi Bob-really appreciate your insight.  

I am a mature and motivated 19 year old student who is on a mission to help my father gain FI after he has worked hard for 42 years.

I also hope to gain valuable insight to be successful and avoid pitfalls.

I began to look into real estate investing approx. one week ago and have been trying to gain as much knowledge as I can since through BP, books, podcasts, and blogs.

Ive done quite a few deals, gained valuable knowledge in real estate because of BP and will always be grateful to have such a wonderful platform and good contributors.

Now I am really hesitant to close this deal...Deal summaryLocation: Norcross, GAPurchase Price: $218kUsing conventional loan - 4.375%, 20% downpaymentmarket rent $1600-1650brand new (less than 4 years old) townhome, end unit, in a very favorable locationThis community/area has gone up $60k in the last 3 years and I thought there was some room for more growth given the market condition + desirable location. 15 year old houses are trading around the same price in the area, which gave me a little more confidence that this property could gain value in the next few years.