@Natalie Vane  sorry for you picking the wrong partners.. but it happens to the best of us.. you will usually lose your money in this scenario .. you can file suit and put a lis Pendance on the property.. you would have a right to do that if you have a clear written JV deal. 

I'm 19 and about to buy my first 2-4 unit apartment but haven't yet, however if I could of went back a few years with everything I've learned now just make sure you're always learning, reading, etc, don't spend your money on stupid things like cars and clothes, if you get a job and keep saving you should have money for a 5% down payment on a property by 18 or so, if you're going to college you can buy a 2-4 unit (duplex-4 plex) or a cheap house and rent out the other rooms, that can go in general too not just with college, and don't buy a brand new car, get at least 3 years old because a car loses 40 percent of its value over those years, you can get a very low mileage older car if you hunt for it, new cars are financial suicide to young people, ideally don't spend more than 10% of your income a vehicle per year, that may be hard depending on what you do, and invest every penny you can while maintaining a safety net (at least a couple thousand dollars to cover expenses, etc) that way you don't have to pay abhorrent credit card interest rates.etc

I need someone to help me not lose this deal.

Compared to last year, many of these companies' sales numbers have shown signs of slowing down and if this continues we'll probably start seeing people losing their jobs, which means people might start missing their mortgage payments, etc.

I ended up losing one of the leads due to her choosing to work with a realtor but was able to continue working with the other seller.

So no, you aren't responsible for their income tax liabilities but shouldn't spend any money on the property until end of redemption period or you may lose this if them redeem.  

The more contingencies you put in the contract the weaker the offer is to the seller and the higher your chances are of losing the deal to another buyer with less contingencies.

If you continue to be "very nice" to them, you run the risk of losing your other tenants. 

And yes, circumstances certainly come into play, just make sure you don't "set the stage" for the circumstances to exist that put a buyer or seller in a position to lose.

If timed right you can be losing money for several years through new acquisitions.