I promise)Good luck buddy and enjoy Waco!

I have spoken with a good buddy of mine which is also my Preferred lender when I sell my personal flips to bring him in on this I still work a 9-5 but clearly is more flexible with his time. 

Make friends with a buddy who does repair work and is interested in flipping and bring that buddy along to give an idea of repairs needed and such. 

If all goes well I could count on him and his buddy for future investment.

I got degree and has helped me personally, if you choose to do so you could have your college buddies rent from you in a house hack so you can still live cheap, just dont rack up student loan debts. tough question to answer via a thread. 

A buddy of mine knows him and says good things but I’m still hesitant.

If you go around him and try to "buddy up" to the owner, I suspect 1) you won't get through to the owner, or if you do, he will see through what you're trying to do. 2) If it's on the market, and you try to circumvent the broker, they might make your life difficult for this deal.

I've seen what people do with hardwood flooring themselves, and then what my buddy does as a professional.

Good luck buddy.....

One or more individuals can go on title and not have any partnership agreement, but all must show up at settlement or be properly represented.If you must explain the involvement of others, you can say my buddy and I work together, that doesn't imply a legal standing of a partnership.You can do what ever you want together between you and your buddy, within the financial and settlement requirements at hand.Not only do you need the ability to perform but also the intent.