@Vanessa B. while this can certainly be done, I do not recommend development projects for a newbie.Too much risk and hard to get funding.

@Mike Wright real estate investing hasn't hard for me, we just sold another flip and we haven't lost money on an investment in 11 years. 

Is there any traditional way short of hard money to take down this property? 

Having access to the MLS is so convenient because hardly a day goes by that I don't want comps for a property.  

I learned the hard way that two heads are better than one, and I've been looking for a partner but none has materialized.

Yes you are representing the seller in your scenario and giving them a better offer but unless there is full disclosure to the other bidders, I have a hard time agreeing with the way you are suggesting it.

Well now I have a little bit of savings after working hard and saving like crazy for a LONG time and I've decided to buy a home cash in Memphis so that I have less risk (vacancies, HOA fees, mortgage payments, etc. all scare me, being a newbie, so I see this as the lowest risk way to get started because even if the home sits vacant for a year I would only have to pay taxes and insurance). 

I havent been on in a while, I've been working hard at lining up the right things and the right partners.

I am a very driven individual and look forward to the successes and hard earned lessons (hopefully not too many lol).  

In that scenario, your main goal is just to refi out the hard money or private loan.