Seriously when there are too many things in the pot it can make the most simplest transactions seem like a big pain in the rear.If it were me I would move on.

Seems that holding out for 6 months at least is the simplest bet to actually do it that way.

So, I in conjunction with my CPA decide on the simplest allocation that makes sense.

That's the simplest way to deal with it.

It is not always financially appropriate as some states (such as CA) have high entity fees, but the simplest way to avoid title changing issues and several other issues is to simply buy a property with all cash in a sibgle asset entity (LLC is usually the best for this) and simply sell the LLC to your end buyer.

You should try to realize that one key ingredient of becoming a REI, is to get your cash leveraged and working hard for you.

What are the specific steps and "ingredients" that you need, or should, do before purchasing your first property?

Building a buyers list is the simplest thing to do, it is not necessary to piggyback off of someone else in my opinion.

You need to get familiar with marketing Marketing is the KEY ingredient to being successful.

If your friend is willing to just give a fixed interest loan, that's the simplest way to go.