We have seen people attempt to strip the 2nd in Chapter 13 due to no equity, and when they don't make it through, go right to Chapter 7, and try to discharge the debt there.

I know the buyer who made this attempt tried with some small local banks/credit unions and they weren't able to help them, but they were looking at residential loans (presumably due to the smaller down payment), not commercial.

If not, there could be two "perceived values" 1) some investor thinks they could negotiate down the mtg, or some how get it removed due to some perceived statute that makes the mtg no longer enforceable, after a certain amount of "no collections attempt" time elapsing.  

Is there a different way to approach that really impresses the person who you're attempting to add value to? 

The main questions I have are: 1) should we refinance with a FHA 203(k) loan, and 2) should we rather attempt to get a hard money loan?

There are standard provisions in most oil and gas lease forms now that give "limited" protection to the surface estate, and most oil and gas companies will attempt to get a Surface Use Agreement from the surface owner.

During the process offer to allow her to terminate lease, Do not attempt to bribe this tenant into leaving you will regret it.

I've know people to study for an hour a day for two weeks and pass the first attempt.

I will definitely think twice before attempting to purchase a rent controlled unit again.

I attempted to contact the larger banks and was face with a very quick NO as you were.