I also don’t have a problem spending the money to fight for this.

I was over him then.

My goal, over the next five years, is to utilize real estate in lieu of my current hourly consulting income, by building a portfolio of rentals.  

1. 380k2. 280kHe wants to spend $350-400k on primary.

Stop hanging out with your deadbeat buddies who spend all day drinking, talking sports, and otherwise wasting away.

If you go with the partnership route1) You need to manage the money going in and out of the business bank account.2) File a partnership return and be responsible for issuing K-1's3) make distributions to you and your partner for cash flow that you receiveYou will likely spend many hours on a nice gesture.I may want to consider instead to give a christmas gift or a bonus for early completion of projects.

You can spend as little as $100 to form an LLC, or you could use an attorney and spend $1,000 or more.

Yes this method only works if #1 You make more money than you spend#2  You are willing to spend less than you make.#3  it works because people don't have discipline to pay their mortgage beyond the minimum.  

@Bruce Woodruff did a good job with some basic numbers and it looks like a loser.Plus you are paying a premium over the average.

And how much did you spend in the rehab?