The plan: I am identifying on/off market properties that are targets, will do all of the real estate work (listing, showing, advertising, vetting, etc) and will split the cost of the purchase of the home and the material costs for any needed repairs.The contractor will be subbing out portions of the job and be on site mostly full time until the project is completed. 

Another option is finding a deal where the owner will seller finance some or all of the down payment portion and is okay being in 2nd position.

If you wave the commissions and you ask for a reduction in the price to offset the difference of not receiving a commission it's still taxable.It's a rebate if a customer of yours receives a portion of the commission to offset closing costs during the transaction.

In this document, I will share a portion of a study I conducted with some of our clients.

Doesn't state the size of the compressor

Deposit is non refundable (unless I as seller  cannot close) If you are really a "Cash buyer" that having the cash to put down for a decent size deposit shouldn't be a problem.

Perhaps tax credits or even lower tax rates at the Federal level for a builder to build and sell homes of certain sizes or price points. 

The size of the deal makes a difference.Larger apartment complexes are typically not advertised outside of the Brokerage webist and lists, so unless you're on their list, you may not know those deals exist. 

What locations, property sizes, and target groups work best?

Do they only get a portion of the equity of the house?