Now that you have exhausted your Low Down Payment Options (Portfolio-Conventional and FHA) you will need to use a Standard Conventional Loan and put 20% down to get your 3rd Duplex.The sky is the limit...you could continue to buy properties and build an empire or just stop there and enjoy more free time...I have friend who quit his job and just manages his properties now.Be alert, if you time it right you might be able to get down payment assistance/grants (I got $5,000 from a local program and used it to buy my interest rate down to 3.125% which is way below typical market rates for a Duplex).

They declined and said it's not "industry standard" and they won't pay more until after work has been completed....Are we about to get scammed here?

That said, Leigh Robinson has written the gold standard (in my opinion) on this topic of managing one's own properties. 

If there's a Lien it will get taken care of during escrow and deducted from seller proceeds - why the fuss? 

Wholesalers try to skirt laws and usually trash standards of ethical  conduct, it's like a back alley drug deal, under  the radar of regulators......and you want to put it on the internet? 

If you max your 401k at your w2 job, you need to deduct that amount from the $53k limit.

Brett, your firm always take  title before wholesaling and therefore set a higher standard. 

Take your gross revenue (the amount of rent and other fees you collect) and deduct all operating expenses (utilities, property tax, janitorial, lawn care, property management, etc).  

My standard real estate contract in NY here even has a "___-day attorney approval contingency" which is a certain time period that attorneys can approve it even if we signed it on the spot. 

It is a just a breed of it's own that you cannot transfer a standard business model over and think it will work.