The agent spoke to someone at the property who was hired to do maintenance on the property and had indicated such.  

They feel a responsibility to keep the common areas clean for the other tenants whereas when I had ones who knew each other they were more comfortable leaving messes out. 

On the other hand if we can stick to this same budget and raise our savings from $2k to $5k a month even 6 months of work might be worth it.The other crossroads I'm currently at is trying to train myself for a new position, so if and when I am laid off, or when I'm at a comfortable savings rate I can transition from this job to a more stable career.

After the meeting he followed up with me and indicated the following “The same person that owns the property given up must receive the replacement property.

@Ed DerenAre you comfortable working with your CPA remotely?

Prices falling while all variability remaining the same (no recession) would indicate a short term correction which historically results in a roughly 10-25% drop in prices. 

I think it all depends on your comfort level and how much you actually want to be physically present.  

Because I plan to hold for at least 5 years, I’m comfortable with 15% or more equity in my current markets, so I generally will do a 80% or even 85% LTV on the cash out refi.Hope this helps. 

It’s just the amount I am comfortable putting down is not enough to cover 20% of most properties while still retaining enough for an emergency fund.

Meanwhile, your down payment is 3.7% of the total purchase price, indicating you'll be looking for an FHA loan.