We're new to real estate and would appreciate advice on our current home in Texas and our future place in Oregon.We love our house in Austin and aren't ready to sell, but as a long-term rental, it would yield (from what I understand) negative cash flow, covering principal and interest but not taxes and insurance.

I can walk you through one of our recent Equity Splits so that you can understand the process. 

You have to purchase at least as much as your net sale and use all of your net cash.If the scenario involved a $450K sale. 

A straightforward way to estimate value is by looking at the price per square foot and using that to calculate your property's worth.In situations like this, it's worth spending a couple of hours yourself to get a solid understanding of the market.

You don't need to know everything to get started; you need a foundation to build on, and the rest will come through experience and then refining your education.You can build a basic understanding of investing in 3-6 months.

I would also urge you to make sure you fully understand how they operate , A-Z (from how they make their profit to how many doors they are managing). 

This will give you a clear understanding of its rental potential and whether it’s worth it as an investment.

We have around $150,000 available for investment.We understand that finding deals in this price range in Phoenix itself might be challenging, so we’d love to get your input on areas near Phoenix where our budget could work.

You're smart for recognizing the importance of building relationships...very few wholesalers in my area understand this. 

Than maybe with adjusting the vocabulary to REALIZED performance and UNREALIZED performance, we can start correcting understandings.