In order to qualify for the primary residence exemption you must have lived in the property for at least 2 out of the 5 years immediately prior to selling it. 

I had been looking for several years prior to the sale.

@Randall AlanI agree that you really need to do your due diligence on the GP prior to investing in a syndication.

@Jesse LeBlancWere you the buyer and did the title company release the funds prior to closing?

It was common to buy land for 10-20% of what it had been selling for just a year prior, sometimes even less.

Yes, he could do a purchase contract prior to viewing but I would never ask a client to do this because I wouldn't be comfortable with it myself.  

As a Banker my advice is to always have several conversations prior to and be very transparent with your Banker or Loan officer.You can use real estate to position yourself into a better or bigger home buts is like chess there are rules and you have to know in advance your next few moves. 

Make sure to the landlord is aware they will need to issue a 30/60 day notice prior to the lease expiring.

Prior to purchasing a zombie property/foreclosure, you will need to perform a title search to understand what liens are attached to the property and owner.

The property is a REO Occupied home that we could not inspect prior to bidding and only had one photo of a really bad exterior.