If that furnace is oil or natural gas/propane it will most likely be in the rage of 60 - 70% efficient.  

My goal (considering TVM principles) to get my money back within 5-10 years and for net present value to be better than selling and putting the cash in a conservative portfolio of stocks/bonds - which would be for me: 25% stocks/65% diversified bonds/10% cash or something of that nature yielding 3-4% after tax.My challenge still.... is the math and comparative analysis with different seller financing structuring. 

Not ashamed, as intimidation is Nature's way of saying, "Make sure the ice is six inches deep before you go running across the lake."

This structure first compensates either partner for skin in the game (kind of like you would otherwise need to pay for private money), then splits rest.On the legal structure, sounds like you'll want to set up an LLC, along with an operating agreement that specifies the different duties you each have, all the stuff you agreed on deal structure above.

Because we do it this way, we can sell the properties for a little over market value, we don’t have to pay realtor fees, we don’t have to pay concessions, and the tenant pays down our mortgage for a few years which increases the margin, and then we cash out.as long as the lessor buys it that's true.. my experience with lease options is less than 50% of them will actually execute.. many will just up and move and some you will evict and some you will pull through the knot hole.. just human nature really. 

Except for small local banks and credit unions that keep skin in the game (portfolio loans), doesn't the bank want the loan to go through so they can flip it over to Wall Street for securitization?

He did mention that there is no immediate issues near the house that would cause this (like erosion or similar issues) so it’s likely just the natural settling of the structure. if we had gone ahead with the leveling it would be around 18k. 

Agents don't like to work with wholesalers because the nature of wholesaling is to get a property under contract for a price that leaves room for an end buyer to pay a wholesale fee, and also has some room for the end buyer to make some money in the deal.  

Depending on how well you know him I would also recommend thinking about having him invest some money in it too so he has "skin in the game." 

This might be the problem for your market.Second, HH deals naturally have higher mortgage payments due to the low down payment.