Admittedly, I am not one that typically finds paid mentorship very valuable, but I also respect that my degree is in business with a focus on real estate, and my first job out of college was in real estate (so it is a little hard for me to take my 20 yrs of knowledge and rewind it to try to view mentors from a completely fresh lens).A couple points: I view mentors, especially these expensive ones as a catch-22. 

The other is a smaller operation which does a lot of business in the specific neighborhood the house is in.

Every day is a school day in this business.

Over the past 15+ years in this business, i have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

If my business owner bank statements did not gain me an approval, I was going to go the hard money route.

The downside will have more to do with your business personality.

This is a business.

Friendship and business don’t always mix well, so it’s critical to use a solid lease and treat this as a business arrangement.

We both run our own businesses but we feel that real estate will help make sure we both maintain our life plans of not needed to work as much any more.

He also told me he is too busy to talk to me on the phone.