I fear if he does not get some honest feedback and help this person will lose if not all but the majority of his investment..

I think what took me so long to actually get started was fear of not knowing what to do.

My thought on a co-signer is that it just puts extra pressure on the primary signer(s) to do the right thing and pay the rent for fear of negative impact on and feedback from the co-signer if not...

Make sure you do extensive Due Diligence but don't get "Paralysis Analysis", the over analyzing of something which causes enough fear to  stop you from taking action and making a move.  

Then join a local REI group and begin using this formula to overcome your fear of the unknown....Definite Goal/Plans + Faith + Emotion + Action  = All Human AccomplishmentFaith = Knowing you can accomplish your goal / Self ConfidenceEmotion = Feeling you can accomplish your goal / objectiveIf you feel that you are deficient in any element, focus on working on that until you feel you're ready to take action.I wish you the best.

This group helped to learn the steps of risk mitigation, wealth  and real estate opportunity assessment hence gave me the tools to put "fear" under control.Like the say ....

Obviously my biggest fear is a bad tenant.

However, my biggest fear with staying is stagnation (my "IT" job doesn't deal much with IT) and the opportunity cost.My InterestsMy interests are varied, really varied.

I don't share it publicly for fear of retaliation, after all they are my thoughts and personal opinions.Connect with me, and I can send my views to you.

Fear of the unknown and fear of going into debt.