He contracts out for purchasing, project management, labor, sales & marketing, etc.

Your requirement to defer all tax is to purchase at least as much as your net sale and use all of the proceeds from the sale in your purchase. 

new to this site, hoping to simplify whether I should sell a lot purchased when sold a SF rental back in 2006. the gross sales price of the house was 165K, but the net was closer to 151K. 

But if you are looking at a core deal that is being acquired direct from lender in a distressed sale, I would not agree that an expanded cap rate is a must.  

A client of ours had delinquent taxes and the property was scheduled for a Tax Deed Sale. 

House was for sale and I did not have a realtor yet so I just walked around and took a peek in the windows, I think it was a remodel/update or new build, but fit in seamlessly. 

Bridge loan closed for him and 90 days later he was closing on the sale. 

I am a 18 year old in my last year of high school, for the past couple of months I've been gaining knowledge on whole sale real estate and I also have been taking a couple of the first steps to begin my career with wholesaling.

Some of the most important are privacy, in a nice neighborhood like this a lot of people prefer to be discreet with the sale.

In your opinion it would be best to look for houses for sale by the owner?