Also, I just read that the the 2024 lifetime gift limit is $13.61 million and I will NEVER approach that amount.

Real Estate is not just about the money made money per deal- it is about the amount of deals per calendar year times the amount of profit.

I don't need hard money because I have a lot of cash.Purchase: $190kDownpayment: $40kClosing/Realtor: $10kLoan Amount: $150kRenovation: $15kARV: $250kRefinance: $5k Final Loan Amount: $190KCash Back: $40KCash Spent (Down & Renovation): $55KCost to buy (Closing/Realtor): $15K---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total Monies Spent: $30KLoan Amount: $190KMortgage: $1.8KRent: $2KThose are rough numbers going through my head.

An other advantage of paying with credit card may be that you will not have to send the provider a 1098 tax form (only an issue if the total yearly amount is over $800). 

That would be a separate mortgage and not what amounts to a second loan on your personal residence, which if you have spouses, they might not be that into.

.- Do you have 200-250k cash, or is that what you can get with your loan amount?

You can do an exchange for less than the full amount, but you will owe taxes on the boot.

My jaw dropped open at that amount for only 4 properties.

Perhaps we "buy" the house from them for the $328K balance to satisfy the lender and don't need a large down payment and then have a separate contract with them to pay $x per month until we've paid the full $172K amount.

As long as the business portion of the land is at least equal to the amount of your sale  that would satisfy your exchange.