There are so many great free educational resources online on the details of flipping (and saving on taxes), and even more on straightforward rentals.

I have my own detailed plans and blueprints I’ve made myself and want to take them to an architect and see if they can get approved or if there’s any changes that need to be made.

Can you please share the PM & contractor details ?

I'll PM you with more details on these, what to look for, etc.

Their leadership has a vested interest in this family not being evicted but also the hoarding is a safety issue they can address. 

When i published it someone mentioned to me i need to use the % method to quickly analyze a deal, that i am wasting my time imputing all the details in my fancy software....So i am a little lost on what and how this works if someone could explain it to me. 

Always start with high level calcs when evaluating a property and if it makes sense, go deeper into more detailed calcs. 

I will send you the details of the deal once it's under contract.

All the facts about the house should be included in the "Hardship Letter" portion of the Short Sale Package, and should also be detailed with the Appraiser that comes out to value the property.

FAR contracts directly address this situation.