I have no desire to mislead or be shady, I want to help the seller and go in on a partnership with the guy who maintains the funding.

Just being truthful.Investing in profitable and desirable markets is a "risk factor"?

Pretty much every activity their hearts desired, we allowed them to explore.  

I hear from wholesalers ALL the time and most fail... either because they have unrealistic expectations or they are hooked on the get rich quick schemes sold by gurus... having said that, you seem to have a true desire and PASSION to succeed - -- Passion is what sets the successful apart from the average.  

The buyer’s agent should ask how long of an escrow period is desired by the seller, what escrow and title company they prefer etc and then write that all in your offer – again to try to get it accepted without needing a counter. 7, Bully offers work- writing way over asking and demanding acceptance before the 1st open house.

Take your estimated ARV, subtract purchase price, fixed costs (buyer closing costs and points, holding costs, seller closing costs, real estate agent commissions), rehab costs, and desired profit.

But I appreciate what was said about not  borrowing from the 401k.I may let this ride a bit longer until I have all the debt paid off, or he comes back to me again with more desire to unload.

The reality is that in this day and age there is no way to prevent tenants from finding out all the information they desire about owners/landlords.You should always introduce yourself to new tenants as the owner by name.

You can pull a list from listsource of all of the duplexes in a specific zip code and narrow them down by equity % and any other criteria you desire I.e absentee NOD market value etc. then reach out to the owners.

Many of the downtown areas of these cities have the historic buildings and walkable neighborhoods that more people are finding desirable today.