I'd say your "power team" and attorney needs to brush up on installment sales and "intent" as there is no more single factor, like equity, used by the IRS.

Our criteria for the broker we hired:Active investors themselvesUnfettered access to the MLS;  will run detailed analysis to support our offersAccess to network of inspectors, legal support, GCs; off market deals; Access to residential & commercial dealsJust plain easy to work w/.We chose a husband/wife team;  the husband concentrates on the hard numbers & finding the deals;  while the wife has the soft skills to sell on the back end.  

If so, I'd "soft offer" maybe $5K to see if they are desperate to sell it.  

They can be slightly in the GC favor with a soft schedule but one that is acceptable for you.  

I have had a soft opening for two weeks now without any advertising and I am nearly on pace to meet the income projections without my grand opening and marketing strategy.Thanks for your replies and any lenders you may know of.

. $500 Purchased at discount builder supply stores (Habitat for Humanity REstore, Seconds and Surplus, ShoptheBoss.com) All this stuff was brand new in the box. 4 brushed-nickel ceiling fans/lights -- $160 vs. $400ish2 brushed-nickel vanity lights -- $40 vs. $100ish4 24"x96" granite slabs -- $400 vs. $1,500ishUndermount sink $150 vs. $250ish660 sq. feet of handscraped engineered floating wood floor -- $660 vs. $2,000+40 sq. feet of glass mosaic backsplash -- $40 vs. $320ishCeramic tile for master bath -- free (I used some the people who sold us our house had left in the garage) vs. $200ish1,000 sq ft of FHA-compliant carpet installed with pad -- $1,100 vs. $2,000ish

Poplar wood is soft (even though it is consider hardwood) with beautiful, even grain which is great for stain.  

As we enter the recession, rents and housing prices tend to get soft, and interest rates would follow and drop shortly after.

Paid off county code enforcement at reduced fee ( usually pretty easy to negotiate down these things if your the new owner and going to actually do something).NUMBERS:230k to buy it cash  60k hard cost  20k soft costs  in it 310k... will take the first 600k for the bare lots that's 300k each lot... 2800 to 3k sq ft home sell for about 1 million..

too funny you mention the I don't want to be a salesmen.I was brought up in a sales family.. top salesmen drove the nice cars.. the worker bee's well you know.I always wanted sales.. my first job was selling FULLER brush door to door  I made more in 3 hours than my piers made in a whole week of bagging groceries...