This would allow for a longer carry back with up front cash flow.

Welcome to BP.My biggest piece of advice is to understand risk premiums in real estate.

Now I'm really torn, but think it just has to kill it for the issues of risk.

Talk to the seller, but options are to cancel the sale (and risk losing your deposit), renegotiate to lower the price to allow you to fix the problems or ask them to fix it. 

Depends on your risk tolerance.

All that means is you've got bring your best to all aspects of the property and the listing itself -- location, furnishings, photography, heck, even the listing headline all matter a lot.At the risk of pitching here, my wife's YouTube is filled with a ton of great MTR content on setting up a listing.

Sub30k seems to fit this bill, although I recognize there is also substantial risk associated with it when done improperly.

My strategy incorporates asset protection measures like LLCs, specific trusts as well as professional property management to spread risk and ensure quality operations.As well as using tax codes to my benfiitSection 179, IRC Section 162, Cost Segregation and Bonus Depreciation and later 1031 them out for larger projects. 

Do you mind sharing the name of that type of loan/lender that allows you to have the seller carry on a second position?

It’s a solid way to leverage equity, but as with any financing, make sure the numbers work and you’re comfortable with the risk.