In an ideal world this will never happen, but just wanted everyone's input. 

Keeping it a condo is the ideal scenario for the exact reasons you laid out.  

But, remember everything is negotiable 

Having 5 (maybe up to eight) free and clear houses in good locations and good tenants, and continue working my full-time job with no pressure to do overtime or with the possibility to retire early, and travel more or spend quality time with my future family would be an ideal goal for me.What would you guys do?

Just remember: most negative reviews are written by problematic tenants.

Getting a special and start off with low down payment is not as good as you think but if the  the location is important as a consideration, the demand for what you buy property and tenant screening, it's in  growth area, is it located within a diverse area, the parking that is available, do you have deep enough pocket if funds are needed, Do nearby amenities exist, is there any nearby retail stores and what are they and does it fit your ideal tenant, and are there any existing tenants. 

I've been to the ATL REIA up near Perimeter before (or maybe that was a BP Meetup, can't remember), but I'll go again and start asking financing questions. 

@Malik Batchelor Ideally you would get a cash equivalent at the time of assignment but that is pretty unreasonable.

IF you have a mortgage that is $xxx, remember that by you paying it off sooner will only save you the monthly payments.Example:  $350 mortgage + a $70k pay off probably wouldn't be the best use of $70k. 

If you do not get it at your price you walk.Always remember business does not operate successfully on emotions unless a sellers emotions are a weakness you can exploit.