I hate the idea of waiting 4 years to get started, but I’m not sure I have a good alternative without tying up my capital or landing in a negative cash flow position on something more “move-in-ready”.

Here are some alternative schooling options.

For a rational player to buy a home, it must be superior to other alternatives. 

Alternatively, you could offer to pay for an easement for the stair case from the neighbor.

My buyer knew it ahead of time so he planned for it.He ended up stripping it down to the studs, he put a roof back on the house, then he hired a company to do ozone treatment on the house.

Alternatively, can you find a cosigner to help you make it work while you're establishing yourself and making the move from "unemployed" to "self-employed"?

The tour guide just looked at me and blinked when I started asking questions about the septic system, water treatment, how many BTUs the oil-fired boiler produced, the incredible technical challenges Wright had to conquer to build a luxury residence over a waterfall in the middle of a forest.

I understand the Biggerpockets push and those are very useful but an alternative you can check out too (don't shoot the messenger) iswww.houseflippingspreadsheet.c...Again just providing options, please don't ban me!

Also anyone know whats the alternative for skip tracing in Canada, how do i get the owners info?

This is a very profitable way to operate in the context of the Bay Area where there is a severe housing shortage and people have few alternatives.