@John VanharaImpossible to answer the question without reading the executed lease.

I have been told by a real estate agent that if I want to execute an assignable option agreement with a property owner that gives me the right, but not the obligation, to purchase the property at an agreed price during an agreed period of time, I must do this through a real estate agent.

On that JV each one of you would have active roles according to your areas of expertise.If you have the idea of  bringing passive investors into the deal where they only provide the capital and have no active involvement in the execution of the business plan and operations (ie passive investor), then you would be moving into Securities land and that's an SEC regulated world. 

Definitely agree with @Jay Hinrichs that the Midwest is an area that you can execute the BRRR.

How and when should I approach the renewal, I want to lock in the new lease (formal agreement, not just a verbal they can then change there mind at the 19th hour) as soon as possible, and do i execute a new lease with a new first month rent and security deposit. 

@Francis Toribio - Wholesaling still doesn't happen in the GTA, but it's a bit more difficult to execute on.

@Daniel DietzAs Dave pointed out, there are related party rules that you may need to follow if you are selling/buying to a 50%+ controlled entity.It appears you are safe to execute your plan in this scenario.

Make sure you have a great strategy in place and what are the necessary steps that needs to be taken then execute them

Depending on when it was sold, you can either endorse it on the back or execute an assignment via any form you find on the Internet. 

As @John Underwood mentioned- these are your 2 forms:PamphletDisclosure FormThese MUST be part of your packet and the disclosure form should be executed at lease signing.