Bear in mind that I'm not interested in flipping or extensive rehabs, so I'm in a particular niche. 

And if they do expire, what would I need to do to get an extension?

A private lender and I are going 50/50 on a down payment, I have cash & my private money partner is using HELOC funds and I am wondering how we can legally go about using our cash ASAP without a 2 month seasoning of funds.

@Jhanel Wilson Is that for conforming/conventional loans or private/portfolio loans?

With Interior Trim, you can see your work take shape and I loved that.Now for the meat and potatoes, I'm at a loss as to where to start... do I get my REL in Illinois even if I don't plan on making it our permanent home, start trying to find deals to fix & flip, where to get money (hard money or private lending, HELOC)? 

My advice would to find some more extensive projects and get those rolling through the winter and have them ready to go in January/February/March. 

2 - Is it common for the RE agent representing the buyer/seller to be anxious and annoying during this process when continuing to request extensions?

You can get really good at finding deals and then take on equity partners of private lenders for them.

Do CODE VIOLATION SEARCH.9Calculate MAX Bid PriceOnce the properties are filtered with the above criteria, set the max bid price between 60% and 75% of Fair Market Value or ARV10Bid StrategyDetermine the low starting and maximum bidding amount, to be agreed by GENERAL PARTNERS11BiddingEnsure 5% of max bid price is in County bidding bank account 3 days prior to bidding12Property Win BidEnsure funds are wired to County bank within 24 hours of WIN13Send File to Lawyer/Title SearchIf property is still occupied, have Legal file a “Writ of Possession” to get former owner removed, Perform Extensive Title Review, Negotiate any existing Liens14Receive TitleReceipt of Certificate of Purchase, Certificate of Title to occur within 3-4 weeks from date of winning Bid, continue follow up with County until received

(retired @ 49) wife has been in private practice for 38 yrs going to retire end of 2018.We have a large portfolio that we began 40 years ago during the 18% Int Rates.