It was originally the plan to buy it from me when he could swing it, I just wanted to walk away from the closing table with $10,000.

I have been learning as much as possible about real estate investing, and am planning to start my investing journey in 2025.

My 6 month goal is to create a strategic real estate investment plan,  build my foundation of knowledge via BiggerPockets podcast/ webinars, and continue to save (I will have 60k cash to invest) My one year goal is to make my first real estate investment purchase.This is very vague, although I am currently reading Brandon Turners book “Rental Property Investing” and creating my plan to be much more detailed and intentional! 

Planning to be living together in CLT for at the least 2+ years, after this- up in the air on staying or moving. 

What's the long-term plan? 

This strategy improves cash flow, allowing more freedom in financial planning and personal spending.

We plan to create package offerings for around $1,000-$5,000 depending on people's needs and requests.

We have aggressive goals as they pertain to real estate investing, and plan to be fully dependent on it in 5-10 years to replace our W2s (currently at $300k).4.

Should I create an LLC at this point to protect my personal assets and tax planning?

I've never had a real issue, and I plan to keep it that way by doing the same consistent things as other have mentioned.