West U Buyers, Financing Question, Real Estate Accountant

[Account Closed]

Hi All - 

I've a handful of thoughts/questions so I'll be short and sweet.

I'm currently focused on a couple of select areas in Houston for my motivated sellers search, and one of the areas is West U.  I've gotten good responses to my mailers and I'm about to get a house (lot value) under contract.  I know I'm buying at a great price and will either wholesale or wholetail it but not quite sure on how to go about it.  Was thinking of maybe just driving around or looking on HAR for new builds and emailing the builders?

Second question - I have a scenario for a potential purchase. Basically the guy bought his house a longggg time ago for $20k and wants to sell, and we agree on a $450k sales price. Is there a way to pay him $270k "on paper" so he doesn't get hit with a long term capital gains tax at 15% and then pay him the remaining balance of $180k over time through a consulting agreement or other instrument where he would avoid the tax.  On top of that, could I set my basis at $450k when I sell it? I wouldn't want to do him a favor to avoid tax, but then have my basis be $270k and then I get hit but a huge tax bill when I sell for say $550k, which would wipe out my profits.  Is this above board or is there another way to approach this?

Finally, does anyone in Houston have a good accountant that specialize in real estate?  I'd like to work with someone specializing in real estate that can help me think through scenarios above

Thanks in advance!

Harrison