I have some money saved for a down payment and would do all the maintenance for the property you would just need to manage and put in your half of deposit too.

If you're interested in flipping, your best bet would be to pair up with an investor who is actively rehabbing properties in the local Denver area and put in your share of sweat equity while you learn the ropes.

Her boss has been real cool with her, a computer programmer, and only asks her to come in the office for 1/2 day and put in the rest of the day at home.  

What would a decent rate of return be for partner one who put in all the initial cash?

I love the character you put in, as opposed to the normal flips you see.

Put in your offer through the listing agent. 100 offers through 100 different listing agents is more doable than 100 offers through the same poor buyer's agent.

For some reason the tags you put in your original message didn't work, but I happened to see it anyway because I have an alert for "Knoxville."

(I actually put in an offer for a buyer this weekend for a SFH in Englewood with a basement in-law suite.)

Seeing that this appraised at 260k and you're looking to put in 22k extra to get to 282k...what kind of appreciation are you expecting in three years that would offset what is likely a monthly operating loss, as well as the costs to sell? 

One other thing to do is to find an office location that is convenient and has minimal distractions.