By "day", I'm an IT/Security executive.

Well executed and smart long term investment strategy.

As I mentioned earlier I have a series of projects that need to be executed and some of those are tasks that need to be done in that order and throw in the permitting process, historic preservation board's oversight, power company connect and disconnect schedules, termite tenting schedule, weather, I do not have full control over when the unit will be available, so the move in date is more like "NO LATER THAN FEB 15" but could be sooner. 

(The VAST majority of agents/brokers working residential real estate are Realtors)Fiduciary DutiesA real estate broker who becomes an agent of a seller or buyer, either intentionally through the execution ofa written agreement, or unintentionally by a course of conduct, will be deemed to be a fiduciary.

It the contract form is not executed by both seller and buyer, you won't have a binding contract.

The most important thing is to make sure you can execute, that you are working with a qualified contractor (not the cheapest price from a random guy in a beat up van) as the interest can kill your deal if you go to long, and many lenders will call the note due at the end of 12 months. 

Just took a look - would be interesting to see a situation where this was executed.

With a healthy track record investors would trust that you will execute this deal successfully, as you had done in the past.Absent that track record, you are relying on your relationships to overcome the "trust factor".  

He may have ment 1 of 2 things ..1)  The house was Foreclosed on and sold at Court House Foreclosure Auction2) The Short Sale lender required the property be sold on an auction site as a Short Sale.Either way it sounds like you didn't have an executed contract and/or have been out of the loop.

You would be getting a HELOC to free up capital to execute on the next deal, so why not just keep that capital free in your own account so you don't have to take out a HELOC and pay the bank interest.