May not compromise on quality, but size is a huge variable they can play.

I learned the hard way...and wasted a whole lot of money and compromised my own personal credit.

What if you have to compromise on either? 

Find out what your other tenants needs are and see if there is a creative compromise, but make everyone involved sign new lease agreements stating the changes!

Can anyone help me mitigate my "skin in the game", since from where I sit there is absolutely no incentive for the seller to compromise if they choose not to. 

Turnaround is slower for you,  GC may not be available in quick fashion,  you may need to compromise and get less experienced /sloppy GC,  you don't have them to evaluate true rehab estimates before deal closes,  etc..

He wanted to buy it for less than I wanted to sell it.... so we worked out a compromise of me not doing any landscaping, not fixing the sprinkler, and not doing any repairs if any were found by an inspector.  

@Nancy LarcomHave you or the someone in your neighborhood looked into negotiating an offer in compromise with the city to essentially lower the debt owed and make it more appealing to a buyer?

I will not compromise my main goal for a "shiny object of distraction."

well, I tend to agree on sellers and major repairs, but remember the sellers  often do required repairs in an inspection in my experience, and, yes, your interests diverge (they are leaving) but the owner will not be on the roof, the roofing contractor will, so if you can agree on the highest quality firms in your area, they probably won't do substandard work or compromise their reputation on one roof job.