Many conventional lenders may not approve financing on properties that are not conforming.

If there is a problem with inspections you will want to know early on and negotiate this before the short sale approval.

How would I go about getting approved for a mortgage with this?

However, I was speaking with my real estate agent today and they mentioned that I could not offer a "cash" offer if the cash is: 1) Coming from a third party and 2) The cash offer has to come from my approved bank account.

BUT- I spoke with my real estate agent and they mentioned that I could not offer a "cash" offer if the cash is: 1) Coming from a third party 2) The cash offer has to come from my approved bank account.

Hard money is simply a professional licensed lender who offers X Loan to value loans secured by real estate and the buyer/borrower can effectively offer quick approved financing to a seller.Creating a means to wholesale such a deal to your buyer may or may not be possible depending on a number of factors and without some specifics, this answer would be a mile long to go over almost all potentials.I will say this, in a wholesale transaction, and depending on how it is specifically structured, having a buyer who is NOT all cash and has to get a loan with approval creates a potential problem where the transaction could fail.

You go through about 3-4 months and a zoning change is usually approved if the alderman supports it and the neighborhood group supports it.

More specifically meaning if this was operated in one state on the west coast (Colorado) could you apply for a mortgage for a property on the east coast (Connecticut) and meet the mortgage requirements for pre approval. 

So if your refinance loan would approve you for a 75% loan....but you have 76% of costs, then you would need to bring 1% to closing.  

You can most likely get it approved through a zoning variance, but it is not a quick process.I hope this helps