A lender (hard or soft money)?

The part about the "credit" check, I've always been told that it was a "soft" check and would not affect the credit reporting.

Check for soft spots on the floor and walls.

The property market here is relatively soft at the moment, and with a lot of foreign pensioners comes a lot of distressed situations.

The floor isn't soft, there isn't an oder, but I tend to be anal about any water issues.From where I sit there are two options.  

You have bank economists, politicians, and, of course, the media, talking about "the new normal" and any correction being a gentle "soft landing".... sound familiar?

The problem I have with this deal is he's not a real motivated seller, is a soft touch running out for 50% of value, not a good businessmanWhat I would do is to sell him on an installment sale at about 50% of market rend payment, divide 750 into the sales price

Buying a property for 15%-20% below market value (I'm presuming you mean ARV) does not leave any margin for profit for you after your rehab costs plus all of the "soft" costs.

This "developer" is an individual investor, who has developed a few houses on his own.The original plans were for the construction of either apartments or condos, and I think the developer's intent is to come up with new, realistic numbers (hard & soft), and determine if the market supports the margins. 

I reside Downtown Memphis across from Bass Pro in the Pinch District.