It is typically much easier for you to buy "turnkey", however in my experince you will buy better quality from an owner who occupied the property than a hous that has been professionally flipped and the remodelling has been done skin deep.Cash and quick closing is not always an advantage.

Yes, this is not something that any landlord will agree with, not any landlord who cares about their property anyway!

BE VERY CAREFUL.

I think they also own 5 more gas stations in the area. the storage unit facility is NOT being taken care of and may not even be bringing them ANY income at all.

Take care of your bills and your credit will improve.Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" is a great book for starting to get your financial house in order. 

I feel I am late to the real estate endeavor, but hopefully my skill set puts me at an advantage in that I can take care of most issues myself. 

However, I would really like it if a lender could use my brokerage account as my “skin-in-the-game”, vs putting 10-30% down on the deal in cash.

You should pitch the terms. 50/50 profit share of net proceeds after the sale of the home. outline all responsibilities so that it shows that 1/2 of the work is taken care of by each of you. be open to other small edits she may propose. 

I have clients that do flips here, house hack, live-in flips, park wealth in real estate and don’t care much about their return, etc.

I would be careful with South Boston and Crewe because the economy has been declining.