Ask your accountant to explain capital gains to you and then you to the seller and how the right deal  structuring can save him money, or ask him to talk to his account on the best way to structure the deal for him.As far as the listing agreements, you have to ask the seller if he sign an Exclusive Agency Agreement listing with both brokers, that allows him to sell the properties with out paying a commission as long as you approached the seller and not the agent.

So I'm wondering if I qualify for partially tax exclusion?

Even though you qualify for the exclusion and your gain shouldn't be taxable, you're still required to report the sale on your tax return.  

Additionally, they keep saying they'll show me how to do deals with out using my own money and again this allows me access to money exclusively available through this program.

What drew me in was there promise of learning it "their"  way so I'd have access to exclusive money through "their" investors.

I looked at every rental unit in the newspaper, Zillow, Craigslist, I called 2 realtors who managed units, and a local landlord who had multiple units. 

Use either an offer to buy it, an exclusive option or possibly a lease option.

BTW I meant to say in my update I was starting off looking for properties for sale through reading the Newspaper.

How are you going to feel when the newspaper headline says "Tim Mason cheats little old ladies out of their tax proceeds." 

Or you could live there 2+ years, rent it for less than 3, and sell tax free (for capital gains up to $250k for singles, or $500k for married couples) under the primary residence exclusion.