Don't get caught in the weeds and distracted by shinny objects.

If the deal is right, the money will always appear.If you are just starting out, probate is probably not the place to begin as there can be many moving parts and legal aspects that can be a distraction and add to frustration.Absentee owners?

Remember to keep your eye on the goal and don't get distracted by disappointment.

It can be very distracting if not done correctly. 

That goal has nothing to do with your successful investing and is only a distraction.

You can decrease your cost of capital to around 8% or so using private money folks, but it is going to take a lot of work and distract you from your main business.  

It was a tug of war.But, I'm happy to report, we finally finished, and it has appraised at more than double the value we paid for it.I told my husband, he is not going to distract me ever again, from pursuing real estate investing.

I'd go spend a couple weeks at the beach away from all of my local distractions while I decide where to invest the money.

Something I meant to mention earlier before I got distracted by the idea of not splitting the rehab - make sure that there's a clearly articulated exit strategy put in writing and notarized or otherwise made official, so in the event one or both of you want to get out, the expectations are clear and set in advance.  

You should also have an office location that has less distractions.