Quote from @Stuart Udis: Below is a cut/paste response from me in 2023.

Wife is from Vzla so I have some ties there. 

How are you going to deduct mortgage interest, depreciation, property taxes, insurance, etc on the cottage tied to your primary home - without getting flagged for an IRS audit?

They will charge extra for any extra work performed, but it could be much more beneficial than tying up that much equity in a partnership with someone you don't know.Also, if you ever do have a partnership, spend the money on the front-end with an attorney to get a sound operating agreement that makes the divorce less messy if it comes to that.

(For reference, the seller wants out and we don’t know that they are ethical enough to keep longer term ties)

While this doesn’t cut out the middleman completely, you can find excellent investment opportunities for flipping houses at a much better price than you’ll find on public real estate markets.

Depreciation can't be transferred to another partner, as it is tied to ownership.

They're more blue collar and are not always the most reliable if they're too tied up in other projects.

Seems pretty standard, VA isn't as tied to credit scores as conventional would be. 

I'm not saying to cut corners, just prioritize based on the list and go from there.