Open to negotiation.While we would give serious consideration to the above arrangement, my question for today is whether or not there are other risk management techniques that we could use to protect ourselves from the mechanical risks and keep our interest in the property whole.Thanks,Chris

Does not include mechanical or electrical permits :-) Can you believe its even getting expensive in the "sticks." 

You may have state laws regarding the pool, we do.Typically, you need to make sure you have:Permitted fence with a lockable gate, the lock/release mechanism needs to be 5-6’ high so children can’t open it, same with exterior doors on the house leading to the pool area.  

There’s other contingencies you can use too, financing, feasibility, environmental, neighborhood review...Have your DD start the 1st business day after they provide you with all the documents, P&L sure, but also you’d want title docs, details on mechanicals like age, repair history and warranty status, insurance claim history for the last 5 years, every scrap of detail on any pending claims, zoning use confirmation from relevant govt entity, copies of all docs they have received from any govt authority related to the property for the past 5 years... there you’d be looking for code violations, notices from EPA or fire marshal, etc.  

Is there a mechanism to 1031 the commercial building I own into the construction of a new duplex on land I own?

Or is it better to just rely on a good handyman or repair person on staff/retainer/rolodex.As @Joe Splitrock said, I have found that the adage of "they don't make them like they used to" seems to apply to most mechanical and electrical devices these days.

I'm looking for a property with an existing auto mechanic or body shop on it ready to go, through foreclosure or Mls.

I'd definitely suggest getting a home warranty (~$500) so that your major mechanicals are covered for your first year while you save up some cash to be able to cover them on your own!

We're targeting value add properties so our budgets typically include 8 - 10k or more for interior rehab plus exterior and mechanicals.  

Just make sure whatever was done, was done well and that there aren't any mechanic's lies.