If you strike an agreement with your partner that they get a fixed 15% return on their money, then you have taken most of the risk out of it for them. 

Take whatever dollar amount you were going to spend on forming an LLC (fees, taxes, legal advice) and offer that to the county instead and see if they'll strike a deal.

Strikes me as odd that you would now call the 50% rule independent of the mortgage... although perhaps you mean that the factors that cause only 50% of your rent to be used as cash flow is independent of the mortgage- that would be a statement I'd agree with.

You have two big strikes against you that will keep your value low.First is mixed use.  

Hope you hear from the owner and strike up a good deal.  

The first number that strikes me as odd is the estimated repair?  

What I recommend is striking a balance across the portfolio.  

You can strike a deal with the seller before it goes to foreclosure.

Hello all ,I've been doing some research Into different markets , Columbus Ohio strikes me as a good investment area .Is any body able to provide me any info on the following zip codes :43206 ,43204, 43224,43205,Thanks in advance for any advice and feedback ,

People make the mistake of believing all debt can be wiped out through a bankruptcy and this is not true.I know you didn't mention this I am just throwing it out there for other people.I would get rid of and pay off your high interest rate loans.This will shift away the bad debt and free up more funds for the good debt that is working on producing income instead of taking it away.Not a fan of paying extra to the mortgage.You would just be trapping equity that would not be growing at the pace of inflation thereby diminishing the value of the equity.Instead if you put that money to work buying properties in one of the best buying cycles ever in real estate you can work to create long term wealth.You don't want to over leverage but you also do not want money sitting on the side lines.Where people mess up is to not buy correctly and over leverage themselves in a bad way.I am very conservative.I do not want to hold something that was supposed to be a flip,wholesale whatever because it was a mistake and now I am stuck with it for awhile.I would rather keep throwing out what will seem like to any seller (bank included) a low offer.Then over time build up a QUALITY portfolio and not a QUANTITY one.You can get quality and quantity if you are patient and make good decisions.The problem is many hit a home run and then go overboard and get strike outs.A few bad properties can almost sink the good ones or at best make you break even when you should be cash flowing like a monster.Watch equity firms that raise capital.They know what they want,how much they will pay,and they do not deviate from it.Over time they build a quality portfolio that can weather many storms that happen in the real estate cycle.If you buy incorrectly and the margin for cash (if everything goes right) is small you are asking for a disaster when the market takes a turn.I see mistakes daily as a commercial listing broker and an investor from other people.I always try to learn how they made a mistake and what happened.I only have one property a 20 unit currently.I am looking for more but only under the right conditions.I have looked at property for years.