If/when I do another flip, I'll get in with this guy, or a guy like him, and just partner and ride along, adding value however I can.  

Hang on tight you are likely in for the ride of your life.

Because I had (almost) a full ride to a private art school and I ended up going to jail, and I always told myself I ruined my entire life by doing that.

You will be able to ride on the other 5 units rents and when you are done with the one you can move on to the next, and ride an even larger cushion of rent.We did this on a 4 unit.

One of my clients is opening an office there, and it looks like a good chance to grow with his company while also dramatically reducing my living expenses (and getting to ride my bike a lot more).My Real Estate Interests, Experience, and GoalsI don't have any experience investing in real estate.

I mostly drove around and looked at neighborhoods, but it felt like more of a pleasure ride than good research. 

If the sponsor is good and the deal is good, worst case you ride out a market cycle and collect some cash flow while you wait longer than planned for your capital back.

He has long since retired but growing up around building and being along for the ride for rentals also gave me some decent experience in the sector.

There are plenty of blog posts, webinars, and worksheets that provide examples & recommendations on how to evaluate a deal.Congratulations on getting started - enjoy the ride!

I've never bid an estate auction before, in a situation where there's really no floor (i.e. the bank is going to bid what they're owed), so I'm not really sure what should be the way to go about this - and I personally have a lot riding on being the winning bidder.I'm open to hear anything and everything.