I’m interested in giving my son a house downpayment gift via setting up a trust for him to use.

It has to all go into the purchase via the QI.Hope this helps. 

I have thrown multiple offers at a seller that only wants to sell his properties via seller finance.

In addition to this contractual breach resulting in a decrease in revenue and profit, sellers have disclosed via email that they have been in communication with current tenants on MTM leases regarding lease renewals and rent prices, conversations that should have been directed toward the buyer. 

It might not make sense as a wholesale but if you list this property, get the owner the price he wants and still get paid on it via a commission.

I’d love to learn more about things like: what other options can I consider for liability protection besides an LLC(I haven’t met a lender willing to lend via an LLC), what are some gotchas to be wary of,etc.

So, with minimal cashflow and minimal appreciation, you'd need to make your money in equity via an aggressive purchase.Personally, if I have to put 25% of my own money down AND also do a lot of the rehab work myself, AND the property won't cashflow much, AND the property won't appreciate much, I would want a bigger spread.

And there's some good qis right here on BP you can vet using their references and actually talk to folks who have used them in the past.I'll reach out via pm.  

This info is sometimes available via ancillary MLS systems (such as REALIST), or you can do an old fashioned public records search for mortgages.

He has promised countless times over several months (5 months to be exact) to come back to us with "a proposal by the end of this week" via email on 11/28/23 and "we will get this wrapped up this week" via email on 12/11/23 - and we are already in the first week of February 2024 without a proposal and without any progress in coming to a resolution.