What is your secret sauce or what skills do you have in your toolbox that help you acquire these properties at discounts? 

Early investing builds equity, generates income, and teaches property management skills, but may strain finances.

At a high level based on what I'm reading, this may be one of those where you give your brother an ultimatum: work together as originally discussed, or you buy him out and call it a day.

Sentimental value can be a significant barrier to selling, so creating a level of trust and understanding is crucial.One strategy is to consistently follow up over time without being pushy.

I tip my hat to their next-level gimmickry. 

I'll DM you some high level dd tips for future projects that have helped me a ton (historically they've been removed for some reason if I respond to the forum)

I have a very diverse skill set - most importantly, good professional communication, process development, an financial literacy.

Which the house was condemned and was easy to demo to ground level and build back which would have know mortgage and allow us to save for two more properties cash.

VTSTRA has a (slightly outdated) list of town ordinances: https://vtstra.org/regs but that does not even get into some of the crazy proposals being tossed around at the state level, like an additional 10% STR tax (atop the 9% M&R + 1% local options tax already in place in many communities). https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2024/WorkGroups/House%20Ways%20and%20Means/Short-term%20Rentals/W~Kirby%20Keeton~Short-term%20rentals%20draft%20language~3-13-2024.pdf

Many of the lakes in North Georgia are controlled by the TVA and they drop the lake levels significantly in the winter.