Further, while bringing the estate from the brink of bankruptcy to profitability, he invested all cash flow into improving the estate and diverted no funds to increasing his personal wealth.  

Then you can usually eke out a small profit on the rental income if you self manage and pull your money back out so you can scale with that. 

Meanwhile these same service providers don't explain the legal process which ties into how the insurance coverage truly works let alone explain how to utilize additional insured status, indemnification clauses amongst many other tools at your disposal  because that is not a profitable business for these service providers to be in.

In this case, your partner can send you the profits/funds and then issue a 1099NR.

Use the profit ONLY to pay off debt, and keep investing the principle. 

With the holiday season approaching, a significant donation to your favorite non-profit or church could provide a tax deduction while supporting a cause you care about.Ultimately, the right strategies really depend on your overall situation, and we’d need more details to offer more specific advice.

I totally agree with you that the older ones often have the profit potential in the ways you described. 

Know what your holding costs are so in case it takes 4months to sell vs 2 months you can still profit.#2 have/know well six trades for every major....so six masons, six HVAC, six framers, six foundation guys, six roofers. 

Sell 1/2 interest to a partner at a profit to yourself.

I met a loan officer there who wants to work with people who doesn't want to do contracts or assign contracts,from start to finish for a profit.