The Governmemt then “sold” individual apartments to their occupants or other interested parties for $500.

This all comes down to how you're structured, how the flip cost were accounted for, if there is a partner (you mentioned "we").If it is an S Corporation and you "distribute" or "sell" the property to yourself, if there is any loss on value, which probably there isn't, know it most likely won't be deductible if it's a related party transaction.  

Due to his lack of communication ability he has to work through third parties such as myself to obtain this critically needed information.

The rough part is this might be a January rental.

Infact, I personally dont like the model where the property needs to be exited in 4-6 years to be able to realize PnL for all parties involved.

Hello all,I am a new investor and have been looking at house boats on marketplace and have been wondering about their short term rental potential.

For it to work for both parties you will have to do a little more hand holding and one on  one involvement than you would for a normal rental.  

The hard part is finding the great deals and negotiating the price.  

They also have covered outdoor boat/rv parking for a solid price. 

Mesquite is strict on code enforcement not allowing more than 4 unrelated parties to rent the same unit.