To protect yourself, I would build trust and rapport with the buyer, make sure you sit down with him multiple times, ask him how he would like to structure it, and then find a way to include yourself in the deal.

I recently found this local forum for Canadians and am happy to see a healthy level of activity.

One of my favorite quotes by Jim Rohn is, "Your level of success will seldom exceed your level of personal development".If I was coaching my younger self, this is what I would recommend: Read Brandon Turner's book on Rental Property Investing https://www.amazon.com/Book-Rental-Property-Investing-Passive-ebook/dp/B018UTI2DOListening to the BP Real Estate podcast https://www.biggerpockets.com/podcastListening to the BP money podcast https://www.biggerpockets.com/moneyshowAttend your local REIA meetings to networkStart analyzing deals to get practiceEngage more on the BP forumsAll the best!

I'm in Seattle so $100k doesn't go as far as it would in the midwest where I grew up.I think ultimately, depending on your experience level, partnering with someone else would be the best way to get not only experience/learning, but less risk. 

Leave in brother name ( trust is there ) or not

Maybe not for you, but burn one or two beginning investors and word will get around about your deals and valuations.I would strongly suggest doing manual ARV's first, and then maybe checking your numbers with the automated model, and go with whichever number is lower.This may just be my own opinion, but I would NEVER trust the ARV of a wholesaler who told me the valuation was automated.

If you are following people that are dong what you want to be doing then you will follow thier path and reach their level of success!

Hey Cole good questionOutside of having trusted contacts, you have to look on sites like citydata and check rentalPrices etcIm actually working with a few people to form a collective and share ideas and opportunities...Feel free to connect with me or send me a message if you want to discuss

Great rental potential as well, as average rents for the area are going in the 1600-1900 range.I mostly wanted to know if it was a good idea to put in the renovations to bring the house up to a higher level as the market for the neighborhood can hold it and houses are selling there quite quickly.

Just remember that every level of complexity you add in the beginning will make it harder for you to get help in the future.