What can I explain to him are all the advantages of real estate over other forms of investment, like the CD market which guarantees a 5% return annually?

Ultimately, section 8 housing can be a great way to build your rental units due to guaranteed income.

At Emerson Property Management, we have a 30-day Lease Guarantee or we cover two months of management services.

The last sentence, the former is correct until the bank calls the loan due & the latter isn't guaranteed.

How solid does one want to be before pulling the plug of guaranteed income.

Or you can give it to me and I'll give you a 10% guaranteed return

If you are putting in 50% of the purchase money, guaranteeing the rehab loan alone, and doing all the work, it does not seem fair to you that your investor takes 50% of the profit.Though there are lenders that specialize in second-position rehab loans, most who make these will expect to be in first position.

But, could I minimize risk of renter defaulting on payments for the 2nd property by turning this property into a section 8 housing unit with guaranteed income from the gov't?

Each carrier will evaluate the property and determine what the cost will be and that's why each carrier has a different premium for the property with generally 85-90% of the coverages being the same.If you feel the dwelling is low see if they have a guaranteed home replacement endorsement that can be added or 150-200% dwelling coverage to truly protect yourself in the event of a total loss.The market is going to be like this until 2025 most likely so the easiest thing to do is raise your deductible without sacrificing coverage.

It's no guarantee but it's a good place to start.