@Bill Gulley  Thank you for your exhaustive post, however please understand, I realize I do not 'own' the lands title... however I do 'own' a property right over the land.  

I currently have 2 rentals plus my primary and still have room to get another loan (based on lender feedback) so plan to exhaust my conventional loan options before having to get creative.  

Not an exhaustive list by any means but some names of realtors who specialize in investment properties in Edmonton...Andrew Barrett Selena Cheung Corey Young Either I or my wife have had brief but pleasant conversations with each of them and while we have not done enough research on Edmonton to formally recommend any of them, they would be a good place to start. 

Second Home is worth 300kHe's asking 250kI'm sure others can give you far better advice than myself, but if I were you I would exhaust all of my lending options first, then start looking for a way to get seller financing, or a partner in the deal if the deal is sweet enough.

Is there a exhaust fan in the bathroom? 

.- I have aboue 10-20k that I could put down, but that would basically exhaust cash reserves- A 50K mortgage would be payable out of the excess earnings from my business with a moderate margin of safety (after paying the rent for the place I live and work out of, see note below). - While I haven't been pre-approved yet, I've been ballparked at 125K as the max loan I could take out. 

I wouldnt do it until you exhausted your other options though.

Better yet, make a list of everyone you want to quote you, make a pot of coffee, then start calling and don't stop until you've exhausted your list.

Sounds like a long shot to me unless the land owner is very strong in other areas as Kevin mentioned.With him contacting you I am sure the land owner has exhausted a lot of possibilities already which leads to me to think the credit isn't good.Usually when I get these types of calls it is a wild goose chase to nothing.

That seems much more realistic than moving to Stockton to start over so one could buy a house.My comment simply put is that commuting to Bay Area from Stockton is exhausting and not a long term solution for anyone, and it's only going to get worse.