@Mike WilfongWelcome to the BiggerPockets community!

The problem I ran into was that most buyers that wanted to do it, couldn't bridge the equity gap and the sellers needed the equity to go buy the next one.   

The seller requires a cash purchase & I’m exploring creative ways to structure the deal.

The goal is to keep these for rentals.I currently own the land personally and am funding the builds with a combination of HELOC and cash - no bank debt tied to these properties specifically.

Should I charge her a prorated amount of the original rent or the increased month-to-month rent for January?

You mentioned "The only problem is that these are 6 month lends, I'm 1.5 months into this, so any work that I do now will not reap any kind of benefits until 6 months from now."

You filed two full year tax cycles and the numbers are similar (no greater variant than 1%) they maybe yes.Generally depreciation is added back as income BUT only the 40% portion you own not all of it.

in the heart of the delta.. what do you want to sell it for ? 

Wishing you and your wife all the best in your investing journey—looking forward to sharing insights.

AND I usually pay a little below market rent, but put a little into the cleanup or fix up of the property.