Reason for this is that our 40% partner who leads the group purchasing the property accepted a SUBORDINATED note for his interest in order to put the deal together.Bottom line is this, by utilizing a number of CREATIVE real estate principles, financing, deal making, etc. we have increased our wealth by anywhere from $235,000 to $635,000 over what we would have had accepting a cash sale.  

I have some land about to be under contract where I plan to clear it, reinstall the utilities, and either build on it or have a smaller new home built on it.

Given your numbers, it seems this may offset most or all of your tax liability and make it easier for you to utilize a new entity structure.

@John McKee, to be certain: IRR is a standard financial metric that is generally universally utilized.  

It's super common in your teens and 20s and I think the invention of BP has made it a bigger deal than it is.

(Question 1)My friends expressed concerns about Steve potential retaliation, maybe in ways that I might not be able to directly identify him for (e.g. causing damage to appliances in the common area and I would have no way of knowing who did it.)

These people are rooted in common sense. 

So far we have dumped 70K not including misc fees like insurance, utilities and other stuff. 

One tool I've utilized extensively for personal and client acquisitions are seller carried transactions. 

I am a USMC veteran so I have some flexibility with finance options and I am looking to utilize all resources I can to build and scale my portfolio.