Seems a wholesaler has more skin in the game than a realtor in the EMD category.  

How should I structure a partnership with my contractor friend so he has skin in the game and will possibly be handling majority of the flip and I’m essentially just purchasing property and possibly giving money for renovations.

@Forrest WilliamsYou can buzz that off with a diamond saw on a grinder, you could also trim the portion of the schluter edge off that would normally sit under the tile and just use your colour match caulk to adhere it to the tile edge.

They have more skin in the game then you do.Make sure you get clear title.

And my normal landlord policy company (Farmers) won't touch it until its mostly full.  

My normal answer would be it depends on the terms, but in this case, if you are not willing to participate in the "residential real estate game" because it's too hard, well, my final thought is a question for you. 

That is normally perfectly legal.

These foreclosure mill law firms get paid more if they complete the foreclosure, so it is normal for them to ignore attempts to pay a loan up to date or to buy the loan.

You can normalize it up/down if the units are bigger/smaller/nicer but that's just an adjustment on the given PPD in an area. 

Again I have no skin in the game yet myself, been educating and analyzing like crazy to this point.