Now lets look at this way, say you've made several payments to this same contractor and he/she is only owed a small balance, now the chances of them skipping out on the tedious final work is much higher than if they are owed a majority of their balance. 

This benefit allows the owner’s estate or heirs to receive the property at a new, higher basis—reducing capital gains taxes if they choose to sell the property after inheriting it.In short, partial disposition allows tax deductions for retired property components during ownership, while the death step-up basis resets the property’s depreciated value, providing tax relief for heirs.

Then with that net, if you reinvest the $ into other real estate would you cash flow more / have a higher ROI? 

Many sellers will not accept this since they are in second position, and it is very risky since if you default (higher probability for investors with no money and/or no skin in the game), they will most likely be wiped out during a foreclosure.

but working with someone who is local to your market, who can show you their legal documents that they have used, introduce you to a proper title/attorney office for drafting documents...I mean, nothing is foolproof...but that route will have a significantly higher success rate. 

The more you pull out the higher the rate.

Well, without any kind of significant cash on their end there is going to be a much higher chance of default.

Do you see higher vacancies in the winter, and how do you get proactive to help mitigate this? 

For instance, depending on your location insurance costs could be much much higher than indicated in the book, construction costs are a lot higher, etc. 

non owner occupied may get taxed at a higher rate than owner occupied.