Friend 'not interested' in his rental properties.

[Benjamin Shaw]

I've got a friend that dabbles in REI with mixed results. I think he's currently holding four properties in Poughkeepsie NY. He mentioned that two or three of them cashflow, but he is not interested, and is looking to get rid of them.

 I'm not really in the position to offer on them since I'm tied up on the purchase of my primary residence as a first investment. Is there anything creative I could do to help him out? Some sort of service I could offer to him, just so that I could learn the ropes? Take over with some sort of lease option? Find a buyer for him?

[Christopher Giannino]

I think you need to try and find out why he's not interested and looking to get get rid of them.  If it's the fact that he just doesn't want to be bothered with the tenants and maintenance issues, you can offer to be his property manager for a percentage of the monthly rents.  This allows you to get practical experience that will in return help your investing career and he'll continue to receive the passive cash flow without any "hassles."  Something to think about though is that if he agrees to this situation and you do not have any relevant experience and accidentally drive his rentals to the ground, you can potentially ruin a friendship.  

If he has a decent amount of equity in the house, you can try to seller finance a deal but it sounds like that might be a little too much given your current situation.