I've got a few mill in rental properties that I've BRRRR'd here in a Oregon, but most of acquisitions have been creative deal structure or joint ventures when we need to raise capital to get to a 50% LTV for maximized cash flow.

When you want to sell this property after you build enough equity, you usually need to renovate it to maximize return.

It depends on your goals, but for us we use AI to maximize our work and time. :)

Best thing to do is you should meet with a real estate attorney to go over the specifics of this deal to come up with the best solution to maximize your returns as well as protect you throughout the transaction.

I have used HELOCS to 1. pay for a downpayment on a new investment property and 2. payoff another property to maximize my cashflowCash out refis are great in an up market or if you've owned the property for awhile. 

On the other hand, if you only have a $15,000 renovation budget and you plan to put tenants into the property in 3 months or less, a No Monthly Payment option would make more sense for maximizing monthly cash flow.

Then will help me renovate to maximize cash flow or flip for a profit.

This structure provided a balanced level of protection without being overly cumbersome - that said 3 LLCs was a pain.If you're inclined towards maximizing legal liability protection, you might consider creating individual LLCs for each property.

The ultimate goal is to maximize profit so we both run research of the area and work as a team to do whatever possible in the pre-acquisition stage to set ourselves up for success.   

And it also accomplishes what your friend was saying in adding numbers to your portfolioMany investors will use a BRRRR framework along with periodic 1031s to maximize available cash and buying power.