As an alternative, would a cash-out refinance, a home equity loan, or a HELOC make sense for you?

I would not invest in real estate with a retirement account.Its too much of a headache and likely not that much better as an investment alternative within a retirement account1) Real Estate provides tax benefits for individuals who own them.

Things have to go really bad from here, as I see it, for the office to underperform alternatives in the next few years, from a cash flow perspective. 

Alternative options include offering a significant down payment, a lease-option agreement, a joint venture, or a deferred closing to align with John's timeline.

We walked a house one time that had alternating piles of dog, cat and human feces all over the floors.

Therefore, I have a hard time committing to a house hack which contributes greatly to my problem of raising capital for a conventional mortgage with a 20%+ down payment instead of alternatives such as an FHA. 

. ;-)  While I wait for delayed communication from them, I am looking for alternate management in the Canton area. 

If this isn't an attractive alternative to your business partner then you might consider changing the ownership structure or operating agreement as one of your options.

Because your alternative is zero income.

These self employed 2nd mtg's are typically based on alternative method of caluclation like profit and loss statements if you're self employed or the last 12 months of bank statement deposits using a formula to derive an income from these deposits (like 50% of all annual rolling 12 calendar month deposits X 50% /12 months = monthly income).