My initial thought was looking into the best approach (if any) with this lender to get one of these two specs at a discount which would get one of them off their books.

Is this a reasonable approach or is there a better one out there?

Also, an income stream is something that is likely to appeal especially to folks approaching (or already in) retirement.  

Once you have one half you can approach the owner of the other. 

The biz is still alive and well even though we're approaching the top of the housing cycle.Cheers!

Your approach is wrong.  

None of these are recommendations since you'd have to talk with your financial advisor about how to approach each of these since they're nuanced but it's a starting point.

This strategic renovation approach significantly increased the home’s market value, allowing us to position it for a high return on investment.

Economists note that job growth in typically underreported industries fell by 42,000 compared to the 6-month average, suggesting August’s numbers may understate actual gains.Key Employment GainsConstruction: +34,000 jobs, driven by heavy civil engineering and nonresidential trade contractors.Healthcare: +31,000 jobs, though slower than the past year's monthly average of 60,000.Social Assistance: +13,000 jobs, with more modest growth compared to previous months.Other growing sectors include financial activities, wholesale trade, and government (+24,000 jobs).Job Losses and Sector StrugglesManufacturing: -24,000 jobs.Retail: -11,100 jobs.Temporary help employment continues to shrink, reflecting business uncertainty.Wage and Fed Policy ImplicationsWages rose by 0.4% in August, up 3.8% year-over-year, supporting a cautious approach by the Federal Reserve on deeper rate cuts.

In the real estate investment field long enough, we all have losing investments; those that don’t work out as planned, and those that approach the “disaster” state.