Be persistent, follow up with individuals, and express your continued interest and progress.

Then lastly, a notice of foreclosure.During this time, the mortgage is continued to be paid and there is no damage to credit.We will then deed the property back to the seller/borrower and show this to the lender. 

On one hand you could sell the property and use the funds from the sale to go and look for a new investment property as you move into your spot downtown.On the other hand, by holding the property you are building equity and the property itself has likely increased in value over time and will continue to.

As you mentioned, the main drawback is the inability to continue 1031 exchanges after converting to a REIT.

@Nicholas Henry Provided your ex continues to make on-time payments on your mortgage, there's no reason your credit score should move one bit.You're selling it to her subject to the existing mortgage. 

Sellers would rather continue with a buyer(as long as it's a reasonable buyer) then start with a new one.

Caveat, experienced investors rarely "shop" they usually have one or two lenders that specialize in certain products, keep all of the investor's data on file with current documents and they tend to care more about convenience, experience, and just getting the deal closed so they will continue to go to the same lender who can make that happen. 

Can the contractor legaly continue working after 5PM?

I'm in that position, and I'm here to generate cash flow to sustain continual growth over time.

My seller has confirmed a seller credit as well, but it's less than 1% of the loan so I'm on the hunt to continue finding funds and reducing my cost out of pocket.