Unfortunately the private lender I had has stopped lending which would have made this easy. 

They are publicly accessible in almost every county. 

So why would there be a redemption period after you went through the process to stop (foreclose) the right of redemption. 

They promised access to private lenders that lend based on the deal and not someones credit.

A 3-day cancellation notice, informing you of your right to cancel your contract if you signed the agreement in your home, or at a place other than at the contractor's office or business;All warranties on the owner's rights; A statement warning, in ten point bold type or larger, directly above the space provided for the signature, the following: DO NOT SIGN THIS CONTRACT IF THERE ARE ANY BLANK SPACES.Whether any lien or security interest is on the residence as a consequence of the contract.An enumeration of such other matters upon which the owner and contractor may lawfully agree.Any other provisions otherwise required by the applicable laws of the Commonwealth.A clause informing the owner about: any and all necessary construction-related permitsthat the contractor must obtain such permits.that owners who secure their own building permits or deal with unregistered contractors will not be eligible to access the Guaranty Fund.Acceleration of payment: No contract can contain an acceleration clause that would require any part or all of the balance not yet due to be declared due and payable because the contractor deems himself to be insecure.

Thanks for stopping in to share your thoughts. 

Welcome to BP @Jared Lillard, there is a lot you can learn about here at the open forum and some videos which you can access as pro member. 

I have access to some funds from my 401k, about $3000, and I'm wondering if that's a realistic amount of money to start out with.

Fannie instituted that former requirement due to "buy and bail" schemes during the Recession, where people with underwater houses would buy a similar home for way less than their current loan balance, and immediately stop making payments on the underwater home.

You also may have less legal standing in the country (for instance if your 51% partner decides to stop paying your share of the cash flow).