Joint Venture Partnerships: Upfront mentoring fees

[Brian Rhodes]

I have been presented an opportunity to JV for 1 year with an experienced real estate investor with verifiable references and a proven track record. I have conducted my due diligence and found everything about this potential partner to be on the up and up. He was even willing to show me the HUD 1 from his most recent deal and his LLC bank statement for the month of October. I hesitate because this opportunity requires a $3,000.00 fee upfront to prevent tire kickers/time wasters. The fee is refundable after 60 days if we are not able to complete any deals. The JV partnership includes education, training, deal funding and 50/50 equity split on any deal I bring to the partnership. I see this as a leg up into purchase options and rentals as a less experienced investor. For the mentor it is an opportunity to scale his business in a geographic region that he doesn't currently live in. Any advice or feedback about this type of partnership from someone with this type of experience? Has anyone paid upfront for mentoring/training/equity partnership? Your comments are appreciated. Thanks!