How long do you think you will need to be on BP until you feel you are a qualified investor?

@Kenneth Shelley   another way to put what Don mentioned is you may want to walk before you run.if at this point in your career your asking these very basic questions your not really qualified to lead your investment group.. you may make it ok but you could very easily go through a steep learning curve and lose your close friends money and based on my long career working with investors I can tell 1000% you lose their money in a RE deal and you are no longer friends no matter how close you think you are now.as for some constructive feedback here Is what I would consider if I was in your shoes.I would get my Real Estate license so you can prove to them your a professional and care about your craft..

I have no time or interest in finding motivated sellers directly, and would rather work with a wholesaler or real estate professional to do the legwork and find qualified leads.  

If you can't show your income (for whatever reason) you cannot qualify at a bank.

Finally as Matthew mentions make sure that there are no outstanding or impending liabilities to the business.Highly recommend that you work with knowledgeable and qualified professional who understand the details about mergers and acquisitions to best guide you through the process.

They might be under qualified and you'll have to evict them as soon as you close.

With 10% or more your option contract will be an installment sale, that will give you a tax liability of a sale and can also mean that your buyer may be entitled to  all of her money back.It's the seller's responsibility to ensure a buyer qualifies for terms agreed with an installment sale, look up "ability to pay rules" which will apply to an installment sale with a buyer who will occupy a residence.

Unless you can find a commercial lender that will qualify you to purchase them with a portfolio loan, then they will need to be acquired individually.

I've spoken to a couple mortgage brokers before finding BP (not ones familiar with REI) who have said that the difficulty is having the income to qualify for both loans.

So, if you qualify, you will still be able to deduct it on your new home that you'll be renting for yourself (but obviously not on the home you own since you'll be renting it out and no longer be living there).