A successful partnership requires the following skillsets among its partners - Time, Money and experience.Which skills do you possess and which skills does your friend possess?

Anything that actually comes into our possession goes into our tithe calculation.In addition to tithing, we try to give to charitable causes when we can, but we don't do it as often as I would like.

@Ricardo Polanco I would not grant buyer early possession without a large nonrefundable deposit.

I now invest more in tax deeds (where you own and take possession of the property immediately).

He is now claiming new tenants took possession of the house a month after they actually did, and therefore he will sue me for the month of lost rent. 

With your current knowledge base you are not in the position to determine the "shortcomings" of any law firm or come to the conclusion they possess a " lack genuine expertise".

An attorney can give his opinion as to what the odds are of the different ways a legal dispute can play out, but it’s the investors decision based on a cost/benefit/ risk analysis to decide how and of to proceed.There’s no way for anyone to render an opinion about what you “should” have done without (1) complete information as to the property being purchased and (2) complete information as to the risk tolerance and financial makeup of your investment group.Here’s my advice - don’t second guess yourself based on opinions of people who (1) don’t possess “all the facts” and (2) probably never acted as sponsors of a syndicated investment.  

When the underwriter has to sift through operating agreements to determine who the members are and struggles to understand who possesses ownership interests that trigger that particular lenders guarantee requirement you are doing yourself more harm than you are good. 

You would think someone in possession of $100K+ cash would be wiser in managing their money. 

I truly admire the skills you possess.