Equity for the general area is going to be proportional to the age of the homes in the area.

I'm looking at purchasing a duplex with a friend where we would split the downpayment and distribute profits proportional to our contribution towards the downpayment.

You have all paused me to think about a response, so I will try and compact it into 1 post. 

If we make cash flow, after vacancy, maintenance, and capex reserves are filled then I take a 10% management rake before we split profits along the equity proportions.

If you do your own research and decide it works for you then all you need to do is to inform the title agent or add a line to the contract stating how you would like to take title and the proportions for each party.

There are markets that have traditionally held their value or increased proportionally greater than others.Places like Greenwich, CT immediately come to mind, as well as newer "growth markets."

Compact it, then relevel the whole area 3-4 inches higher with topsoil?

Pine Bluff gets blown out of proportion when mentioned because it's population is lower than it's neighboring counterparts.

It describes the decision-making process and ways to improve it.One chapter was devoted to so-called "experts" in any field/industry (I'm thinking Mad Money's Jim Cramer, but you can fill in your own blanks)-- where they show that the correct advice from these "talking heads" is inversely proportional to the amount of airtime they get in the national media.

Is there a better unit size that will jump you up to higher rent at a greater proportion?