To make matters complicated, I actually have my NJ real estate license as I used to live there.

It seems a bit complicated.

But the actual structure is much more complicated than can be answered here on a forum - that's why it's best to consult with a cross border tax specialist.  

Can i use an out of town company and just email documents, or would this greatly complicate things?

That can run a few thousand dollars but is easier to handle than the more complicated jobs.

So this offer to go easy and delay close is...unnecessary at best, a faux "kind" gesture.The fact the offer is cash is moot if your friend needs time to find a new place and if there's mortgage to be paid off.

@Markeilsha RodriguezIn my opion its a really good deal...I would go about it completely different i think your complicating a good deal..I do think its a bit of a guru concept and things could get sticky if you dont face it head on, regarless of what anyone tells you, the bigger picture is can you afford the mortgage and can you afford the tax payment.

I've pretty much decided I'm going to shoot for a compromise in my contract: contractor provides an approximate week-by-week timeline for the project, correlates the draws to the work to be done each week, with large budget items e.g. hvac, appliances, foundation work, etc limited to their own draws; that shouldn't over complicate things too much, it limits my risk, and doesn't force the contractor to pay out of pocket.

While conventional lenders are ideal for the average homebuyer who will purchase a single-family home with a down payment and a conventional payment schedule, they are singularly unable to deal with multi-unit properties, development deals or other complicated investment opportunities.

I wouldn't be surprised if real estate "consultants" remained -- people paid on an hourly basis to help with transactional details and paperwork -- and I wouldn't be surprised if real estate attorneys took a more prominent role in the complicated transactions, but I don't think the value of real estate agents is there.Ultimately, agents do the following:- Help procure buyers for sellers and help procure housing prospects for buyers;- Help with negotiation;- Fill out forms and deal with procedural details of the transaction;- Coordinate closings.The first bullet above is by-far the most important, and eventually the Internet will provide the ability for buyers and sellers to find each other without a middleman.All that said, real estate agents have a very strong lobby, so they probably won't go away as quickly as they should.And full disclosure, I'm a licensed agent.