I eventually had to drop the price to $275,000 and it sold within weeks for a grand total of about $3,000 profit in exchange for tying money up for a long time...Fail! 

I’d be willing to put in a lot sweat in exchange for a minimal stake and the educational opportunity.

I applaud your exchange till the end strategy.  

Article 25 defines a real estate broker as an individual or an entity, who with intent to collect or receive a fee, compensation, or valuable consideration, sells or offers for sale, buys or offers to buy, provides or offers to provide market analyses, lists or offers or attempts to list, or negotiates the purchase or sale or exchange or mortgage of real estate, or negotiates for the construction of a building on real estate; who leases or offers or rents or offers for rent real estate or the improvements on the real estate for others, as a whole or partial vocation; who engages in property management as a whole or partial vocation; who sells or offers for sale, buys or offers to buy, leases or offers to lease, or negotiates the purchase or sale or exchange of a business, business opportunity, or the goodwill of an existing business for others; or who, as owner or otherwise, engages in the sale of real estate as a principal vocation.I read this as closely as I could a few times and could not develop any confidence on whether or not it applies to people who want to wholesale in the way gurus and others talk about it.  

They buy it from you in exchange for a promissory note.  

If you buy properties using a 1031 exchange and the property you sold was in your name, can you subsequently transfer ownership to an LLC without triggering a capital gains bill from the IRS since its not in your name anymore?

If you flip or wholesale houses, you don't qualify for a 1031 exchange or capital gains tax.

I purchase primarily for cash flow, but I try to buy with an eye to appreciation, as I plan to 10-31 exchange my portfolio in roughly 7 years when I retire from my career and relocate to a better rental market (Florida) where I replace my salary managing 10 or more paid off rental properties with the proceeds of these leveraged ones rising in value.

What if we took another $10,000 off the price and in exchange we can let your tenants paying $2500/month stay another 3 months.

I'm working from a 1033 exchange, I have a significant down payment, owner willing to sell two great cash flowing commercial properties and will owner finance part of the deal.