If you have structural issue or are re-designing the property you could have one pull a building permit. 

In a nutshell, a building and all of its structural components are one unit of property. 

If you're not getting at least four different interest rate and fee structures from your lender, then ask for more options or find another lender. 

I am trying to come up with a scenario/structure that would be beneficial for me in the long run, as far as not taking profits in the immediate future, and beneficial for a partner in the short(er) term.

Keep in mind that there are minimum requirements that you may need to physically occupy the unit (6 months to 1 yr) but if you chose a property below market value, you have the option of doing a cash out refi and pulling money out of the property for your next investment. 

If the walls you want to remove are not load bearing, you don't need a structural engineer for this project.

I think if you are just restoring an existing structure you will not have the problem. 

My thoughts are that once you've determined what their motivation is for selling and you've structured the deal to best meet their needs and solve their problem, you want to give them the solution to their problem (your contract AND offer letter explaining the contract) ASAP.

I need advice on how to make a deal happen.Currently a homeowner owes $1.3M on a loan and has stopped making payments on it for past 10 years.  Property is located in New York, which is known for their long foreclosur...

One thing you may think about doing is starting a process of debt consolidation into the riskiest properties in the most unstable locations (either physically or prone to stagnation or market turnaround).