I would be comfortable to some degree as this would just be a saving plan of sorts.

OH gosh over the years I have had all sorts of weirdos take pot shots at me. 

An official unlicensed assistant has access to the MLS.Crystal, I love this idea of becoming an assistant to an investor-focused agent and I might be a good candidate for that sort of work.

Plus, Zillow, Rentler and the other real estate platforms tend to have all sorts of unnecessary hoops to jump through for landlords, and I find a lot of their design very un-intuitive (I remember spending waaayyy too much time just trying to figure out simple things in Rentler).  ...why can't they make it easier?

They seem to cover all sorts of topics, beyond investing, and certainly talk about real estate investing within the forums/courses, etc.  

This sort of deal could go south very easily and for that reason I stayed away.What would you do? 

Quote from @Nik Farooqui: Hello All-My name is Nik and I am sort of making a comeback to real estate investing.

And sort them for the most recent reviews. 

The first being - don't bring your friends or family into the mix :)Since it sounds like you're pretty solidified in your friend moving in, and it could be a good first roomie, so just to get your feet wet... i'll double down on Laura's advice - do a lease, for the legalities, but i also highly recommend some sort of written (we call it a) Room Mate Agreement.

It would be ideal to get some sort of large study done on this.Furthermore, if you sold in a buyer's market, your thought may be skewed.If your portfolio was in a market that was declining in value.I am not saying that the above situations applied to you but it would be good to get a large study on this.Furthermore, if we are talking about more expensive homes being a better investment?