Too late to partner up?

[Chris Sisney]

Hey everyone. I've recently learned that a good friend of mine is in the process of trying to purchase a small apartment building. After talking and noticing that we have the same goals, we figured that the best course of action would be to partner up. He has already sent a letter of intent and applied for financing. He was told that once the process starts it's pretty hard to add on a partner because we'll both be back at square one. How true is this? If it's actually easier to let him continue with the process, how hard is it to partner up after the fact? I'd be bringing in half the down payment and splitting everything 50/50. Thanks in advance!