This did drain that fund, but it also kept the impact to our personal finances very minimal. 

They will be a waste of time.You'll open your lending horizons if you can find properties worth more than $120K.Best of luckStephanie

So I’m doing my best to minimize the business expenses to achieve my business goals.  

The owners dont want to waste their time sending our financials until someone is serious.

I use TD Ameritrade Institutional which is carefully managed by a professional with a minimal fee structure.  

Specific to you as a real estate agent, track all miles you drive showing homes and write that off in Sch C P2 box 44A (yes I have that memorized) to the greatest extent your CPA tells you it's lawful to do -- this is one of those magic write-offs that minimizes your tax burden while having zero impact on mortgage qualifying income.

Essentially you are just kicking the tires and wasting their time.

The old floor is chocolate brown and quite consistent with minimal grain, but most laminate flooring now is on trend with grey tones and has more of a grain to it so it's very hard to match.

My question for the experts out there is how do I make this transaction happen and minimize taxes for the family member?  

I want to put minimal money down if any because I know he hates taxes (old school guy) so any capital gains would make him mad.