I do not waste my time even bother with the formalities. 

@Jarred Ross no formal lender will lend 100% of the value on commercial deals. 

I can see on our county judicial records, judgements made against people, evictions, but it’s limited to specific counties, so if I have someone who is new to the area I may not see anything.Thanks! 

Having a formal agreement with all these details in place before doing the deal protects all partners from the fallout of not planning appropriately. 

At it's simplest form a contract is just an formalized agreement that articulates what you and someone else agree to. 

Once the offer is formally signed by all parties, I'll have 15 days to get with inspectors and contractors and come up with a final number. 

If he has been doing this for 10 years and you have allowed it with no formal, written reprimand and request to not make material changes and improvements then you are not going to be able to use that argument in court and if you do you should be ashamed.

trust deeds non judicial. so like in GA and MS  which is trust deed country or in GA its called a Deed to secure debt..it can be quit fast 90 to 120 days from filing the NOD .. in mortgage states and particularly NE states the process can take some time but usually at least one year.. to from what i have heard in NY it can take 3 to 5.. borrowers and lenders can also stall things out a bit using different methods.

I will post the address once I have the property formally locked up, as of now I just have a verbal agreement form the seller.

Need to do a formal introduction.Congrats on joining and think you have a great plan, the only trick is finding something affordable in south bay.