My only theory is he wants our mortgage to look clean until he has the chance to sell it to a big bank (it's a small private lender), and he's only looking out for the company's interests. 

Sounds like you want him out now and money motivates a lot of people.Make it contingent on the condo being in good condition and professionally cleaned so that the expectation is set before handing him over any money.

You have the same $7k/mo you started with for your home purchase.Reserves should be a non-issue assuming you have retirement accounts with that kind of income. 6 months reserves is only $20k, a pittance.

I get that these places have an old school style, but can't you recreate that with modern clean looking materials. 

Yet again, non of this is magic or beyond the realm of logical thought, so it's not exactly that Cardone has the magic dust :)Logic is key...

Most of the scenarios proposed to us by potential clients for such joint ventures would likely create a benefit between the parties and not pass scrutiny in an audit.There are many ways to safely and productively grow your IRA investing in non-traditional assets such as real estate in a standalone fashion,  There is no need to take unnecessary and foolish risks with your retirement savings.

I actually think certain types can be decent investments IF you do the homework and read the docs and know what you're buying into.I personally avoid high rises (too much cap ex and high maintenance costs mean poor return), poorly maintained buildings with lots of deferred maintenance, avoid non-warrantable buildings or complexes (hard to finance), I prefer townhouses or 4plex style condos with only one common wall and nobody above or below, that limits neighbor and tenant drama. 

We've been working on bylaws, registered as a non-profit, set up a bank account, drafted application forms, discussed membership fees, and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Low income rentals - tenants don't ask - they just paint and you find out once you had to evict them for non-payment. 

I have noticed over the last 2 years or so that there's more applications from people that work from home or have other non-traditional jobs, and I live in a pretty traditional area so it's not like a coast vs. flyover thing.