You can do seller financing or get a private lender but likely either of those will be tough.

yellow letters... up to you how you value your time, might be best to give it 1 or 2 more conversations and then move on dot com. 

I’ve had a good conversation with one of their loan officers and they seem to be more flexible.

If you are concerned you can hire a private inspector.  

I was the kid in high school getting offers from private colleges over how high my test scores were, and I ended up ruining so much with drugs, toxic emotions and bad decisions. 

The initial conversation should be to identify your purchasing power and make sure you can qualify for the loan.

I’m looking at funding and all-cash deal with private money or hard money.

That type of sizable deduction could help whittle down a large tax bill.https://www.investopedia.com/articles/07/oil-tax-break.aspIf anyone has experience participating in this type of investment or knows well-known and respected operators in this space that put together limited partnerships and private placements, please share that info here. 

How would I initiate this conversation?

Private money and maybe checking rates at your local banks!