I designed and contracted a complete remodel of the house which also included some wall demo and kitchen reconfiguration.

@David AndersonBeing able to defer the gain from putting it into a Qualified opportunity zone is not as simple as buying a property within the zone.Regarding finding the designated tracts, you can likely type into google "<insert county/state> qualified opportunity zone tracks"You likely want to work a tax professional who specializes in qualified opportunity zones to make sure you are following the book.Some of the steps include1) Funding the entity with capital gains within 180 days2) Self-designation as a QOF3) buying a property within a Qualified opportunity zone4) Rehab the property for atleast the cost of the building5) satisfy periodic asset testing6) satisfy holding period requirement7) etc etc etc

Not to mention high volume agents often have a designated buyers agent that works with all potential buyers.

Even if they do, they may not care if it's now been designated as a single family residence by the county. 

Most of the space is open concept with a few non load bearing walls.I’m seeking some design ideas on how to get the space to a place where we can rent it as a short term rental, but also possibly convert it back to office space if we need to in a year or 2.Does anyone have experience in designing this sort or space or the conversion of retail/office to residential.

Just confirm that with them.  

When designing your liability protection strategy, ask yourself how much of a target is on your back?

If you are buying from unlicensed wholesaler with an agent on your side, the agent will want you to use the standard contract as well and confirm where he or she will get paid from.If you are wholesaling virtually, you need a team on the ground.

I would like to see that confirmed somewhere

Did you confirm their income is at least 3X rent?