My first option would be to anchor a bottom plate to the floor and a top plate to the ceiling and attach studs to the two plates and not have any actual attachment to the brick.

He has made it clear he will not owner finance. are there other options for to minimize capital gains tax and in order to make this deal more beneficial to all?

West Ridge Property Management - They offer more a la carte options if you only need help with specific things.Questions to Ask Your Property Manager - A list of questions that can be used to vet your property manager.

Or do you recommend other options to explore? 

I know this is dinner time, they have a food truck there with pretty decent options. 

Any other options for building cash flow positive home or should i stick to traditional way and finding long term tenants? 

Some may also offer a short term bridge debt option that rolls into permanent financing at a certain benchmark, saving in refi costs.DSCR lenders as I'm using it will be permanent debt financing for many investors because these loan products look heavily at the income the property produces.

Added bonus for us was the 10,000 square foot lot and live oaks on the property -- hopefully something unique to attract more guests (or headaches from cleaning leaves, etc.), but time will tell. 

As he noted, if you call some of the mainstream custodians they will say they allow for self-direction but they mean that in the literal sense of doing what you want with the securities and investment options on their platforms, which are traditional investments like stocks, bonds, ETFs, etc.  

Like much of what @Caroline Gerardo and @Andrew Postell said, your options are going to be dictated by loan terms (how title is held and by whom).So find a local lender in the market where you intend to buy and be open with the lender.