It's stopping me from scaling to a much larger portfolio leveraged versus a smaller paid off portfolio.  

When you tell them they will only get paid when the loan closes, they will disappear.If required, the only money you should ever send to the lender is for a credit check.

I ran into these gugys personally coming out of the GFC were money was really tough to raise..

You could use an LLC, Trust, personal name, etc. 

Jeremy, I hope you don’t take this badly…..I noticed your posts don’t get much “traction” The reason is they read like slick marketing “puff” pieces you find posted on LinkedIn all the time, rather than personally engaged discussions, If you want significant engagement, just write something out, and don’t even “edit” it, just go with the first draft, giving the effect like a personal conversation with someone.  

Everything in tax depends on the personal situation. 

The first is that there's no consensus between tax professionals, and the second is that you will not like my personal interpretation.My interpretation is:Until the property is "placed in service" - everything goes into basis.Illustration.You buy a property July 1st.You finish rehab November 1st and put the property on the market.Your tenant moves in January 15th.The property was placed in service November 1st, and it does not matter that the tenant did not move in until the next year.Everything paid between July 1st and November 1st, including interest and utilities, goes into basis.

I'm willing to help this person in any way I can.

With a property that is paid off, the cash flow should be there.  

I fought it, paid a LOT of money to get the work done.