If you aren't completely comfortable with that just yet, by "bringing this potentially GREAT deal to the investor," you are strengthening your mentor-mentee relationship anyway.  

A couple years of house hacking would allow you to build a small portfolio and strengthen your credit. 

You're essentially revitalizing a community and strengthening property values when you fix up a property6.

Some failures upfront can strengthen your knowledge in the long run.

In this type of market do you need to go out his source deals     You need to be doing direct mail and strengthen your relationship with brokers deals definitely are harder to come by but they're out there by the way I think single family homes are just as competitive especially in Rochester.  

Sure you save foundation and roof, but the structural strengthening required to carry the added weight adds back. 

In real estate you want to take advantage of the 5 ways of making money (cash flow, loan pay down, tax benefits, appreciation, inflation), sounds like you could strengthen the first by shifting your equity & in doing so getting a better return on equity. 

I'm sure you have your skillset and standard of what extent you are willing to accept, but I suggest you strengthen more that part of your skillset and expand that network.

They'll help shorten your close date and give you the convenience of an offer that is as good as cash.3) Strengthen your offer in other ways.

@Samer Jaber Working with the family can go either way, it can either strengthen your relationship with your brother and/or ruin it all together.