Help me prove my point.

[Victor Longinotti]

Hey BP Community.

I am looking at purchasing a duplex that was acquired in a tax lien sale.  We would be purchasing from the people who bought the house who are acquaintances.  We are having a disagreement on how to approach the house.  The two scenarios we have are as follows.  Purchase the house on land contract for 25K with $2500 down at 9% interest with payments at $500 per month.  This Duplex brings in $425 per unit and has had the same renters for 5 and 7 years.  The rent is low for the area.   We could get higher rent but would have to clean it up and are choosing to keep the tenants in to avoid headaches right now.  This scenario above is about a 0% roi.  INSANE right?  This is the plan my business partner is considering because getting into his first property he wants to have as little skin in the game as possible and potentially OK with that and owning the house in 5-6 years.  I have owned rental properties for a number of years, but we are partnering in a new market near him.   They will also offer us the house for $18500 cash which is the plan I want to go with.  Home would be paid off in 3 years time.  I could understand the first option if there is a return, but still think its insane.  I feel like I understand these scenarios pretty well and it is a no brainier, but I am looking for perspective on the mentality of waiting years for a return as opposed to buying outright and getting a quicker return but having cash in.  P.S. the house is a dump!!