Since it’s not in her name and won’t be negatively affecting her credit, what benefits does she gain by short selling the home?

This property had some lifting that needed to be done however the biggest obstacle was simply rain.

Have her put the utilities in her own name.

Not sure if that was best use of my 80k but it felt good at the time.. the lady got to live her life out in her home she had lived in for 50 years.

I want to place one of the most inspiring and convincing FIRE or REI ebooks ever in her kindle so she can decide to join my effort in achieving FIRE.

I don't know if I can post too much in here without it needing to be in the market place... so I would love some feedback and advice first.

What were your biggest obstacles? 

Originally posted by @Sally Hanan:I'd much rather present the contractor's portfolio to private investors and pay them the principle and interest back at the end, but I'm trying to come up with alternatives if that doesn't work out.Since this point didn't get much response, I'll jump in here... as a first time flipper with no track record, you won't find a private investor to do the deal you proposed, outside of generous friends and family. 

I agreed to return $100 to her, as my purchasing the property ultimately resulted in her and her children needing relocation.  

Our Market Knowledge, also often blinds us to the inherent risk in the strategies we are good at, and warps our perception of risk in strategies we are less familiar with.