My thought was:1 - I put the down payment and assume the mortgage.2 - Contractor (no skin in the game at this point) buys materials to complete the necessary upgrades3 - When it is done we sell the property and subtract the down payment, material cost, mortgage payments, utilities, settlement costs - and then whatever is left we split.  

@Gary Honda That's too broad of a question.

Joel, welcome to the game!

If you're in the flipping business then I think there is always the game of Russian Roulette involved.

Have your offer start broad and narrow it down through negotiations.

You are asking too broad of a question for anyone to take the time to answer.Suggest you narrow your question and ask several over time...

For example, are you the kind of person where, if you invested a few/several thousand in a course, that'd you'd be motivated to the point of not failing because of that skin in the game?

As for purchase price, anything you can use to get a better price is fair game.

Your question is so broad it's very difficult to help you.

Game cameras are cheap and can give you other angles of the house on the super cheap.