First Time Flip - With an unmotivated friend

[Jared Cacciapaglia]

I'd love to hear what other BPers think about this situation and what I can/should do.

My best friend approached me last October with the potential to buy a house from a family friend of his in the greater Boston area. This family friend is a motivated seller simply waiting for her ailing dog to pass away so she can move out of her house and into a trailer park. The dog has since passed away.

She owns the house free and clear and is willing to sell it to my best friend and I for a significant discount assuming we help her move and get rid of the things she can't bring to the trailer park. She's gotten to know the both of us pretty well, but my best friend remains the main point of contact for the deal. Otherwise I would be running with the ball as we speak.

Now, the numbers all make sense for us to purchase at the discounted price, clean the place up with minimal repairs and has an ARV that will yield us a great profit.

Here in lies the problem: my friend is becoming less and less committed to the deal and it's been increasingly difficult for me to motivate him. He hasn't had the best of luck in his personal or financial life over the past 5-10 years, but I figure something like this could be a catalyst to turn that around. Needless to say he's pretty risk averse. On top of that he has never been involved in a real estate transaction and knows little to nothing about real estate investing.

So, my question(s) is: What else can I do to motivate him? Should I remain persistent until I convince him, OR should I walk away and take his reluctance as a sign that this could be detrimental to our relationship?

-Eager for some feedback!