My advice would be go for the most they will loan you as long as you're in an appreciating market and you can find a value-add.

I have a potential partner who is a long-time friend.

Can you give us the details, What was list priceWhat did you offerWhat was their minimum to hud counterWhat did they accept, I assume this is same as second answerHow long after the "countered" did they come back and accept your offer?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on strategies to achieve breakeven or positive cash flow in the long term.

Our current focus is for a family lakehouse / lifestyle play here in TN but would like to work my way into commercial properties, short-term rental facilities, business acquisitions to name a few.

The fix-up and increased value will not matter to the IRS as long as you sell within a reasonable time frame of the house passing into the estate.

However, after accounting for long-term capital gains tax and other expenses, you would be left with $150k which is important to budget and account for.

They did reach out and wanted a second builders deposit 3 days before xmas, 2023,  and that was the first real contact I had with them over that year long time period. 

20% down is available, 25% down will bring significantly better terms in a lot of cases. 

What would one of you suggest for a medium term operator whose tenants may be over using a specific utility like gas or electric.