Find a lender that is willing to walk you through the process.

I'm meeting with the owner tomorrow, to walk through the property and if I'm correct on my analysis, there's a significant margin.

If the customer doesn't agree then I walk away.

I love what @Brandon Turner said in one of the podcast that real estate business is like walking in a fog, you may not see that far but you could walk a little bit ... by bit... 

When they walk  in with some deal, the first thing to recognize is that you're talking to someone who has made a bogus business contract not having the intent to follow through to the letter of their contract nor having the ability to carry through.

I actually just drove around that area yesterday, and it's definitely on the rise, especially around that walking/biking trail.

This is a classic case of walking over dollars to save pennies.

With your current structure, you could just walk away; he is taking the hit.You may also want to offer a preferred return; meaning the investor makes the first X percentage or dollars of the projected profit.

This Saturday I'm doing a walk through of my first potential deal.

Our realtor walked the home and only recommended minor touch ups.