If I am writing an offer and plan to use a HML would I indicate "conventional financing" or "cash"? 

Some folks indicate you should have no debt going into REI, some say have an aggressive plan in place to reduce it to zero in a short time frame.

If you plan to flip it (indicated by your renovate remark in bullet #3) your numbers would have to justify it.

There you will find if the appraiser indicated "vacant" or "owner occupied".

For us it was less an issue of the extra money (25k more) or even that he was entertaining other offers after accepting ours - it was more the timing and how he handled it (waiting until the last possible moment when we were maximally invested in the deal), which indicated that he had no principles - it felt like we were being extorted.

A good local realtor can help you with home values, and should be able to given you an indication of new home values.As for the loans, that totally bank dependent.  

But like I previously indicated, competition is crazy downtown and deals rarely make it on the MLS.

However, it is almost impossible to say since not only economic indicators affect the economy, but also the expectations of the market. 

Hi Ryan,  I don't believe the first quarter returns are indicative of what I can expect from the fund as it was in its ramp up period.  

Using "feeling phrases" about things that are a specific number are heavy indicators that someone is not yet ready.Right now nothing you do will be investing, it will be spending money.