Austin’s housing demand is undeterred, and possibly strengthened by declining inventory.”Here are basic stats on residential sales for April 2020 for the City of Austin and the greater Austin area:Here's local market data on a more fine-grained time scale:Austin unemployment in March 2020 was a seasonally adjusted 3.4%, which was up from 2.5% in February (source).

That said, is the seller's cost basis adjusted for inflation or is it based on the actual purchase price he paid in 1993 when he acquired the property? 

Your seller should be prepared for that reality.So, while you could certainly help by introducing your seller to note buyers, I don't know that there's much more you should be doing in this situation.I certainly would not be trying to retroactively adjust the purchase price.What am I missing?

Therfore you would pay your capital gains tax on $60,000 and defer the other $40,000 into the new adjusted basis of your new property.

A community bank or credit union may do that, but expect to be on something like a 5/1 adjustable rate loan with a 20-25 year amortization.  

When an appraiser submits the appraisal to the lender and then the underwriter wants a lower value and sends it back to the appraiser claiming they don't like his adjustments or comparable selections?

The property will need a gut rehab including roof, chimney removal, floorplan adjustments, plumbing, electrical etc.

Reserve requirements and lending standards went up considerably as the Covid recession started, but that's just lenders being more cautious and adjusting to current market conditions.Did he say any reasons why?

Looking for real estate attorney who is well versed in CA laws.Need to add an amendment to lease agreement to add/remove tenant and adjust rent.

@Dan Heuschele An infinite return via getting all your money out constantly is completely different from a TRUE 250%-400% Tax free return as I have created with this method after my 2500+ hours of studying and being mentored by the biggest most reputable faces in real estate, i.e the equivalent to what would take someone that's as motivated as possible 5-15 years to learn if they had a full time job (I spent 18-19 over a year of 8 hours a day 7 days a week on learning how to truly be a millionaire and successful in all aspects).Thanks for the tips but you did not answer my question, and I know all of the things you said obviously and I will adjust to the best possible thing available in my situation after deliberate knowledge on each individual matter and having a physical mentor,community and tons of other sources of wisdom and knowledge going into all of this before I start.