Have your agent talk to his broker, and say you want to have a conference call about getting your Ernest money back.

We've talked about renovating this particular bathroom however didn't imagine it would be this soon.  

***i'm not tax strategist or CPA***with that in mind i think that is a good idea to talk with your tax professional, speaking for myself my tax professional wasn't very helpful along the lines of exploring creative ways to utilize SDIRA''s if you need a custodian that deals with this topic and  can counsel you on any options that you could utilize this site could be an option to check out: www.trustetc.com.............they may be able to help you in achieving your goals 

Is it naive to think that the kind of " good deals" that are talked about on the podcasts could realistically be found with a realtor.

It seems to be hard for me to do since I don't have someone I can physically talk to and have them show me simple things, like how to fill out something as simple as a letter of intent.

yeah i agree with stephen l, you don't need a lawyer to file for LLC here in the red stick, i had to send $100 filing fee to have paperwork registered with sec of state web address to file online is sos.la.gov just type it just like that, i also had my bank file for my EIN when i applied for a line of credit application just have to talk to your local bank that you deal with real nice and they will work with you, the 1 i deal with is capital 1!

You cannot get money back for repairs If you want to refinance based on the appraised value without having to wait 6 months, then I would talk to Bob Green.

Just be consistent - I know a lot of guys on BP talk about the criteria.

-Any tips for negotiating the JV deals you talk about in your post on land development?

You need to keep talking to lenders.