Hello Ryan,I am in a similar boat, but unfortunately, unless you have huge capital reserves, it'll be hard to buy enough to offset that much income, at least in a short amount of time. 

In either case, I doubt that market appreciation alone will allow you to refi out that amount.

A very small amount of equity in a personal home (I bought it at the beginning of the year), two cars (maybe worth $12k), a small E-Trade account....My credit score is 670.

More likely we would have had higher holding costs for holding it while it was on the market and then under contract until it closed.My portion of the profit when split with my partner = $12,406.50Lease OptionPurchase price $72,150 (includes closing costs)Rehab $40,353Holding costs $2,184AVR based on appraisal $150,000Option price $159,900 for 5-year optionFinanced $112,500 on a 20 year mortgage at 4.69% (adjusts after 5 years)Bank closing costs $1,992Option fee $6,500Total into the property -$2,320 (each of us got $1,160 after getting the loan)Monthly cash flow $195.06 (97.53 each)If the optionee exercises the option just before it expires then we will get the difference between what we still owe on the property and what we are selling the property for and we will split another $50,258 ($25,129 each).Total profit $64,283 ($32,141.50 each).In summary, we will get paid a little less than 3 times the amount than if we were to just sell it.  

Would those two be worth the same dollar amount to a buyer?

Do not underestimate the amount of work you'll be putting into this project.

Will my efforts amount to a wash, or will I be able to just take their exam and keep moving?

If they are not, check your loan agreement because it may require that you send all insurance funds to your lender within a certain amount of time.

If the Broker is sued, does he then sue the Salesperson to recover any amount lost from the suit?

You have to take into consideration the amount of repairs that will be needed, finding a reputable contractor, and keeping your fingers crossed that the house is not vandalized before you can get a tenant in the home, etc.