We are currently under contract on one of the lots.

I ended up spending some extra time making the finished basement legal (add insulation and egress).   

If you need financial help, ask under the "Finance, Tax, and Legal" forum.

Not that it really matters.No institutional lender will give someone a loan that doesn't have:1) Credit history2) A social security number3) Income3) Employment historyYou'll want to research Wholesaling and Land Contracts.

using a TREC 1-4 contract so hard to scam there.  

I know it is by means of assignment free in an assignment contract, however, what troubles me is understanding the process of assignment free.

I am under contract to buy and flip a house that I am paying $615K for. 

Perhaps if your partner was a general contractor or handyman type there may be some merit there to reduce costs / increase profitability.If your partner enjoys deal sourcing, a better move might be for him to become an agent - so he could legally collect commissions from finding deals and managing properties for multiple people. 

I just recently went under contract on my first property.

My agent is saying that we are unable to split the contract that way (or reduce the purchase price), so I'm trying to figure out options.