Someone to potentially front the down payment or work on some sort of equity deal. 

If a hilltop home was a potential purchaser's goal these are some estimates we got for professional work:Getting power to the hilltop will cost about 50-60k according to the local power company. 66k for overhead lines, 52k for buried (not including trenching). $3600 for a septic permit & design about 50k for sitework (very long driveway), though foresters have noted the potential for NRCS funding for road improvement and invasive species management (i.e. clearing the 8-acre area which has blackberry bushes galore) which we are in the very early stages of looking into. 

While this can land you in potential audit risk, I think you're in the clear here. 

It had terrible photos and looked like a ton of work...which it was, but I saw the potential.

If your fear is on a 30 year time horizon, then your lens should also equally look at the potential upside down the road over 30 years. 

you should get a RMLO or an underwriter to qualify the borrower. if its owner occupied and in florida you also will need to use a third party servicing company to service the loan which will run you around $450/yr. not an accountant but its my understnding unfortunately the interest income is going to be taxed at ordinary income and the principal will reduce the principal. how you offset the losses talk to your CPA.your best bet honestly is to just sell it and bite the bullet. 

It's understandable to have reservations, but don't let excuses hinder your potential for passive income and wealth growth!

I do agree with you that investors must absolutely consult with their legal and tax advisors before entering into any of these tax-deferral strategies to ensure they understand the potential risks involved, including the risk of being disallowed by the California FTB.  

Now someone has hijacked my ad, is using the same pics and description but with a different phone number and email address.One potential tenant called and told me about it, after she looked at the ad yesterday she noticed the price change this morning.

You may not be able to back out of contract to save your escrow deposit and I’m no lawyer, but if you’re doing inspection and it’s totally jacked up and it can potentially clean out your account and portfolio.