Moreover, if a bank would ever agree to your idea, the result would openly and clearly be considered a loss to the bank.

@Christopher Smith,Group properties in LLCs so as to limit your losses in the event of successful litigation against you.

We have done a tremendous amount of research to date, but are hoping to find some folks who are already succeeding to lend us some wisdom in exchange for shameless food based bribery.We have a solid background in property rehab and estimating and one of us knows a little about the law, but we could really use some advice from those of you who were actually able to stop researching - and start investing.Are there any investor-friendly agents or investing pro's out there who would be willing to set up some time to chat?   

Two questions here:1) A friend wants to invest with me and doesn't just want interest for the money he's putting up, but rather to reap the benefit (or suffer the loss) of the venture.  

What about the likely tenant base - how much economic loss can you expect from them?

The other thought I have is that you will be unlikely to get current deductions in the future on rental losses.

They have great coffee and food.

If you never sell the property you never "realize" the loss.  

Always remember to do the math analysis on the prospective property and try to look at the subject property before you make an offer or at least have a clause that allows you the time (about 15 days) to make a detailed inspection and possibly back out of the deal without a penalty that hurts you.Right after you close get an insurance policy that will protect you if there is a loss.  

Quinto, it was a JV and there was a slight loss to the investor, though i think we ended up splitting the fee 50/50 with buyer...