I've saved enough $ such that living off the rental income would be easy (once invested), and in the meantime, I don't spend much $ so this wouldn't effect my finances much.Essentially I was wondering how this might affect my ability to get a loan?

Just spend the time on this site- podcasts, discussions, resources and it will be profitable for you.

However, I became more and more discouraged after looking more into the hedge funds purchasing billions worth of property.

I've never really thought of my perfect weekend but at the least I want to go out for the nightlife, spend a small amount of time in the gym, hanging out with friends.

I have the passion and have the dedication, however I lack a starting point and am looking for a place to hit the ground running.I am very excited to spend time here, listening and leading!

Revealing HOAsYou may want to think about this much more and more thoroughly before going forward.At the very least, the time and huge amounts of money that must spend will never be returned, whether you succeed or not.Even more important, you may be creating your own nightmare.

Spending a couple hundred on a high quality home inspection is much better than several thousand for the "oh no!!"

iid=HP_HighlightChinese buyers accounted for 18% of the $68.2 billion that foreigners spent on homes during the 12 months ended March 31, according to the National Association of Realtors.

I estimate with everything I will spend about 50-60 in rehab and that is on the high side.I see that your down in Tacoma, I have noticed some pretty good deals down in that area still.

Alternatively, you could arrange an earn-out whereby you retain 80% - 90% of his portion of the the cash-flow-before-taxes (CFBT) until he has earned out your half of the property {this could be done even if there is an existing mortgage in-place}.Be warned that if you have a mortgage and your names are both on it, the lender (especially a bank) may force the remaining partner to refinance (rather than simply issue a "release" of the other partner from the mortgage).There are others here like Jon Holdman, and @Bill Gulley, who have deep experience and better know the financing options available to you in the U.S.A.Whatever you do going forward, spend a little time with a real estate / partnership attorney and get things in writing.