The old owner files and we get really delayed but eventually prevail as the rules are pretty cut and dry. 

You don't necessarily want to stand on the dry bank and then try & divert the stream to you.But as far as effort & startup costs, renting out dirt, portable containers, and then building permanent units is going to be progressively more expensive, so estimate the potential revenue with each of those options to find out if the juice is worth the squeeze.And of course as @Rachel H. said above there's more than just the financials - you're going to have to get P&Z on board, hearings if you're changing land use, possibly environmental testing, geotech surveys, etc.Best of luck to you!

Has the well ever run dry?

A few problems with the deal giveen my circumstances areA) I have access to minimal capital to invest in the deal (Max $25-30k I can get my hands on if needed)B) Credit isnt exactly squeaky clean and anyone who has a significantly higher score than me doesnt have the income to back it upC) Interested property has a broken water pipe making it a 203K or cash dealD) Asking price is high for a starter investor with no collateral and mimimum "skin money" to invest (asking price $499k)The comps in the area are going for anywheres from 700-850k so Im figuring even with some serious TLC which I estimate to be around 75k you can still make a serious profit on this.

But, it's a "dry" heat".

What is standard for the amount of investment expected of me as the "manager" (I presume any "silent" investor would want me to have some skin in the game)?  

Then when down turn happens they are flush with cash when lending reduces or dries up and can scoop up properties cheap and ride the next wave up to sell.

Once it dries you can only tell up close it was repainted and sometimes even then you can’t tell.

In my mind, this means they have less than zero skin in the game; the syndicator has already taken profit out of the deal.

You know what you are getting before the ink dries on the deed and you'll get the financing you want.