Purchasing and obtaining financing for a REO purchase - in which type of entity?

[Erin P.]

Hello BP community. I’m hoping someone can help me with a situation I’m facing.

I am purchasing a REO property as a fix and flip project. It is a joint venture with another investor and we are scheduled to close this Friday. The other investor found the deal and has it under contract with his C-Corp on record as the buyer. I have agreed to fund the deal with part cash and part financing from a hard money lender. Since we can't assign the deal to me as the new buyer (because it's a REO property), and the lender will want me to be the purchaser in order to lend, how can we best get the loan and the purchase accomplished? Is it prudent to create a C-Corp in the same name (or close enough) as the C-Corp on the purchase contract, and list me as the only officer? Presumably, this would allow me to obtain financing and purchase the house as the ‘same' party that currently has the house under contract. My concern with this strategy is the tax implications of earning short-term capital gains in a C-Corp. If we were to use this strategy, could I deed the property to a LLC after the purchase, sell the property as a LLC and pay taxes based only on the LLCs ownership? Will the lender be able to object to that? Is there a better, cleaner way to make this all happen?

Any wisdom you can share will be much appreciated. Thank you!