I think it bares repeating for all the newbies reading this thread: Ignore everyone saying that you need to put down thousands of dollars or some sort of minimum percentage.They're talking about retail MLS sales and unmotivated sellers.If you want to make any money in real estate you need to learn the difference between a motivated and an unmotivated seller.

What are the bare minimum requirements I should request in a written agreement/legal document with this individual to best protect my asset in case his investment fails or falls short.

However when I deducted taxes and adjusted for inflation they actually lost money....WTFI think there are definitely properties that will barely appreciate...but I think neighborhoods that people want to live in will at least keep up with the cost of inflation of construction materials...at least. 

Once I fill in all of the fields, it barely cashflows.  

Multi-families barely break even. 

I will admit that it was difficult at first to set money aside because all throughout college we barely had enough money to pay our bills and now we both had good jobs and had a significant amount of additional income.

@Michele B. Are

How can I get started as I can barely afford to even put 3% down.

What you can do to make sure you're testing all the layers of paint is to cut a V-shaped notch through the paint down to the bare wood on a part of the exterior. 

Anywhere other than So Cal I'm basically loaded with options, but here I feel barely middle class with zero options for investing.