As the seller I would pay for the energy audit, do the analysis on the work to be done (cost vs savings) and then market the home with a prepackaged improvement contract that would meet lender guidelines (solar, EE windows, etc). 45 day close to allow for enough time to do loan and obtain permits, occupancy COE+2. 

I used to own three rentals in Seattle but after 2012 when the prices got too high I realized that sophisticated buy-and-hold investors invest where the numbers make sense with cash flow, not appreciation (gambling).

Hello, Albert Lubin, the 50% rule is a general guideline used by real estate investors to estimate the operating expenses (OpEx) of a property as a percentage of Effective Gross Income (EGI).

Such an agreement should detail how rental income and expenses will be split to avoid discrepancies and comply with IRS regulations.It's essential for both cousins to adhere to IRS guidelines, which require accurate reporting of rental income and expenses based on ownership percentages.

To ensure compliance, it's important to have your IRA custodian review the loan documents to confirm that the carve-outs align with the IRS guidelines for IRA investments in real estate.

But knowing what you are doing should be a part of investing anywhere -otherwise it is gambling and not investing. 

Investors are increasingly expanding secondary mortgage underwriting guidelines to allow borrowers access to their equity positions and reserves. 

Most guidelines state minimum 1 year but in practice when these applications come in I've seen that 6-12 months with a reasonable explanation can be done easily.Now some times in rare instances with exception I've seen buyers get approved even under 6 months.

So they have expanded their guidelines to include source of income.

We found more and more issues wrong with the property like the plumbing and state guidelines.