The proceeds would e divided among 3 people.How would you structure t as a whole sale as well as a seller finance offer?

Never understood where the "50% Rule" came from and if it applied to a property of interest, I would be demanding owners Sch E for two years.  

Thanks for the advice @Jake E. and @Greg H..

Correct, but principle & interest can be shown as Other Expenses and reduces net profits.2) Be aware that purely passive income PnL does not carry back to the 1040: it is self contained on the Sch E form. 

I thought from what I had been listening to and reading I should be okay, but I get the feeling I'm missing a lot when the first listing I see appears to be a deal if I could get it for a few thousand below asking (based on some assumptions).Can you please tell me what I'm missing and/or should be looking for with the below "deal".12500 E 34th Ter S,Independence, MO 64055http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Independence-...List Price: $39,900ARV: $80,000Max Allowable Offer: $36,000 (70% ARV $56,000 minus repair cost $20,000)Total in the deal: $60,000 (MAO + repairs + transactional costs $4,000) Profit: $20,000Now that I do the numbers I can see that if it does actually require 20k repairs (mine above was a guess, tough to do a repair estimate from Australia) for a potential profit of 20K there's not that much in it.All thoughts and opinions are very welcome.

Originally posted by @Jake E.

Originally posted by @Jake E.

@David MacClintock I don't see "Insurance Agent" on your list.  A

So, this W2 flight to REI would not be on my risk list, as leaving a stable W2 job to jump into the vast world of the REI unknown without its education, experience, planning and forethought is like jumping off a cliff without a parachute.

@Mick Mimnaugh Might have someone(s) for you; will confirm and follow-up via e-mail.