Having a comprehensive contract and clear communication upfront will contribute to a smoother and more successful fix and flip venture.

Assuming a building footprint of up to 5000 sq ft, use could not support the need for a lot of parking (probably <20 spaces).Not interested in auto maintenance and other uses that require disposal (and potential runoff/dumping) of large volume of hazardous materials.Long term, I'd prefer something that contributes to the improvement of this area (e.g. a used car lot might be OK for a couple of years just to generate income, but I'd want to find something more beneficial after that).

What other specific characteristics contribute to, what in your mind would be, quality real estate?

Other than increasing our 401k contributions to lower our income below 150k, is there anything else we can do?

I'm not aware of any other real-estate related options, and outside of having a business of some sort to have write-offs, I only know of the traditional things like maxing out retirement contributions and such.  

They stated that commissions and fees, as long as they are in line with state and local laws and are reasonable, wouldn't be treated as interested party contributions.

If you donate them to a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, you can get a tax deduction equal to the current fair market value of property, no matter what your parents paid and no matter whether title has been quieted or not.  

I would like to find an Excel sheet calculator to use with my hard money cash provider to review the metrics of a deal and something we can both contribute to reviewing the calculations and terms.

Obviously there's a multitude of complicated contributing factors, but I think higher density housing even in formerly lower density zoned areas via ADUs and Jr.

Start contributing so we plebes can catch the waves too.Are you in the Studio/1 bedroom market or are you in the full house market?