South facing houses/streets (like on the side of a hill facing south) get less ice build up. 

I've been listening to the bigger pockets podcasts and I remember David Greene saying a few times that depending on your situation, if you can hang onto an appreciating asset even if it isn't quite cash flowing that it is sometimes a good move because appreciation builds wealth long-term and eventually rental rates will go up.

I'm currently exploring options for speeding up the process of securing business funding and building corporate credit.

Look for people on those pages mentioning that they are taking bids for contractors or specialists for work on their rentals, and message them to see if they are actively building their portfolios.

For example, it's hard to justify airfare for one duplex, but much easier for an 8-12 unit building and even better the more you get.

So, we have a few possibilities: 1) My parents could sell the home and buy a new one with cash which we could do a land contract again. 2) My parents could buy vacant land which we can then build on. 

What's the best way to block this thing up so they can't come in?

One way or another, they are building their net worth.Building net worth is how you may possibly retire with fewer worries.

First, as a new investor your goal really shouldn't be to collect cash flow, you want to be building as much equity as quickly as possible.

Are you demo'ing only a free standing building?