Particularly on the Maryland side of the border, the state of Maryland no longer allows agents to be involved in the negotiation process with the bank....this has dramatically increased the degree of difficulty in getting a short sale through.

Vincent de PaulOperation HopeUpStream Impact (I plan to start working with them over the next few weeks, and reached out last week - haven't actually gotten involved here yet, but I'm very excited about their mission!)

Is there a deal structure that would allow them to get the tax benefits w/out being on the deed or involved long term?  

This also means that you have to build and maintain these relationships, and as a result you probably should not be involved with anything that can damage these relationships.This article might be quite suitable to understand what to do in order to deal with Chinese buyers, and also a perspective on what not to do.

Prior to deciding I wanted to get involved in Real Estate Investing, I was an at-home-mom, mainly because I don't do well blindly taking orders from a Boss that will under pay me and also day care is crazy expensive when you have more than one kid... 

That could potentially involve the second holder assuming or paying off the first.  

My wife and I recently joined the local REIA looking to connect with individuals already involved in Real Estate.

To properly understand the risk involved, look at the loan-to-value (“LTV”) ratio of the loan - if the loan has a 60% LTV there is a lot more margin for error than an 85% LTV loan.

The investor is my uncle so I'm sure we can work out something that is a win for everyone involved.

They are great and you don't need FCI involved.