Also is there a way to not give up half of it to taxes?

If you put together the right deal and have some of your own skin in the game, finding financing for small professionally managed multi's shouldn't be impossible.The easiest way to find out if you can put together a super deal is to TRY.

The difference in lending vs partnering in my opinion is that my partner assumes half the liability where a lender would not share that risk. 

If that was you then I found you to be an excellent negotiator (which is more than half the battle in real estate imo).

Google hud homes half off

For example, if you sell a rental property for $250,000 and then want to acquire a duplex so that you can rent one side and live in the other, the duplex would have to be valued at $500,000 so that half of the value - or $250,000 - is at least equal to the value of the rental property that you sold. 

Hopefully you will already have realized that now, especially now you know that the comps are HALF his asking price!

Sure, $800 rents might not look like much compared to markets where you're getting $1200 but you're paying half the price for the home in many cases.

I am about an hour and a half west of you in Dubuque, IA .

Sometimes the quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.