b) offer to bring some of the above friends and family in as equity partners and share the gain (more returns for partners, more paperwork for all, less return for me)c) are there other alternatives I should consider to close my cash gap?

Alternatively, the bridge loan can be a smaller second or third mortgage on top of existing loans.

Hopefully, the situation remedies it self now that we've had the pros come through.I hope you had the whole building treated and scheduled for another treatment in a month?!

Another alternative would be to look for a structured situation like a lease purchase in a nicer area.Good luck to you! 

Custodians tend to take a more conservative approach when reviewing alternative assets for investment, as they want to avoid the custody of any assets that may be involved in prohibited transactions.

I was thinking it be a smart idea to reach out the seller directly and try come up with an alternative method of financing; maybe to keep the banks out of the deal for now but keep the seller good on their mortgage payments- which I'm presuming is the issue bringing about the short sale in the first place? 

For example, Fidelity offers a brokerage account for the self-directed solo 401k provided by third-party companies and the account owner can write checks out of the Fidelity brokerage account for the alternative investments (e.g., real estate, precious metals, notes, etc), and the remaining funds can be invested in stocks and mutual funds. 

If it levels off that shows stability but if it does the same as 2008 then maybe it would be smarter to save up and build alternative credit to attack the market when it falls?

As an alternative, you can collect first month and last month rent as well.

If I needed medical treatment I would seek out a doctor.