So essentially depending on your timing you will need (2) things in your favor to do that lower rates, and enough equity.In some cases having an interest only rate is not a good thing because it can and it does create comfort which can lead to bad habits of not paying the principal down.

Coming from the buy and hold side of investing, I'm very focused on cash flow, cash on cash, and then looking at the other ways that I value a deal (appreciation, principal paydown, etc.).  

There is no mention of the loan balance, just the rate and payment (I did the math on $513 / mo - if it's principal and interest only the loan balance would be $92,900 - so I suspect you're quoting a PITI payment). 

Personally, I have no issues making the full monthly payments from the start, so it seems unnecessary to pay the buydown payment just to have lower payments in the first two years.Additionally, my lender said that if I refinance before the 2-year period is over, the remaining buydown payment would be applied to the principal.

The borrower can pay off the remaining principal balance, unpaid interest earned, legal fees, etc.

Depending on the facts and circumstances of the agreement, it could either be treated either1) the sale occurs as of the original agreement date, and then your taxable gain is generally spread out over the life of the principal payments as an installment sale (although I should mention any depreciation you've taken on your property could affect this), or2) the sale does not occur until the lease option is exercised, and gain reported at that time.

Seen a YouTube where the owner/principal provided a process to scale quickly.

Thanks you for sharing.Question, as I pay down the principal on the entitlement, does that me the entitlement goes down too?

There isn't any equity stake to protect your principal capital investment.

When you can buy properties like this, you can get almost 100% of your money out of the property, convert the property into a long term rental loan, with a DSCR Loan (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) where we as the lender look at the property and if it cash flows, and that is expressed as a ratio, for instance if your Total Loan payment including Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance was $1000/mo, then you would need a rent of $1200/mo and you would have a 1.2 DSCR Ratio.Here is an example of a cheap duplex https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/732-Broad-St-Menasha-WI-5...