If it i a good property and will cash flow - or otherwise reduce your  housing expense then it is a good deal. 

Short sales are different, that's when a the bank agrees on a reduced price so the seller can sell the house in lieu of foreclosure. 

-Costs of street development and utility extensions (public water and septic)-Approval process for subdividing, what should I make contract contingent on to protect myself (approvals, soil tests, stormwater etc)-Is there a form of financing people generally use?

I'm certain they get some percentage of what they can rent the place out for, so you would be asking them to reduce their own profit in order to assuage your conscience.

Not all states are equal in disclosing public information. 

In my case, I reduced my partnership share a bit to compensate. 

"Beginning in January, Jerome Powell (Chairman of the Federal Reserve) plans to appear before the public after every FOMC meeting." 

According to the IRS’sOffice of Research Publication 6961, it received almost 6.4 million 1099-Cs in 2015.

You COULD place the property into a Land Trust with the LLC as the beneficiary with your partner and you as the trustees (managers,) which would help conceal your names from public record.

I'm thinking with the economy as uncertain as it now seems to be, maybe this is the time to hold tight and maybe reduce some debt anyway.Or the other option is to stay conforming, go right up to the $484k limit, pay the 1/4 point for cash out, and at least get $34k back out.