Perhaps if your partner was a general contractor or handyman type there may be some merit there to reduce costs / increase profitability.If your partner enjoys deal sourcing, a better move might be for him to become an agent - so he could legally collect commissions from finding deals and managing properties for multiple people. 

A few things to think about-what are all of your monthly costs and look at the rent including vacancy and management fees. 

Every investor has their own path, and hearing different perspectives will only enrich your journey.Challenges in Real Estate Investing:Finding deals: In competitive markets, it can be tough to find good deals that make sense financially.Capital and financing: Finding funding, especially as a new investor, can sometimes be challenging.Dealing with tenants: Managing rental properties and dealing with tenants can be tricky, especially with issues like late rent or property damage.Market risk: Real estate markets fluctuate, and external factors (like economic shifts or local development projects) can impact property values.I’d be happy to continue the conversation if you want to dive deeper into any of these topics!

Here's a big "math" you overlooked for quite a few years.Right now $388k in equity, minus (let's go all out) $100k in closing costs, gets you a walk away of $288k in equity.Use that $288k as a 20% DP, and you should have $1.44M in property value,...not $415k. 

It is our goal to deliver all of this in the RTR Academy along with a plethora of benefits to students to include:-VIP access to RTR inventory before the general public-ability to earn back course fees through investing & our attractive referral program-tax, legal & investing advice from our team of attorney, CPAs & investment advisors-no cost SDIRA or solo 401(k) account to invest through retirement vehicles -lifetime membership with no ongoing or additional fees, etc.!

Paying a bit more might be justified if the pro forma income is very achievable, but $360,000 seems too high unless renovations are already complete.Factor in the costs and timeline for completing renovations for the studio and the fifth park-owned home.

I don't expect to know everything by then, but I hope to develop a basic strategy that prevents me from making the most common and costly mistakes that a newbie can make.

I completely agree with @Ashish Acharya's points about the cost-effectiveness of a HELOC and the potential credit implications if it’s secured by your primary residence.

If a prop is 250k and you can refi at 70% LTV you want to get it at 175k minus rehab costs.

In my opinion, the US and the UAE have agreements to avoid double taxation, so there should not be any additional costs in Dubai.