Spending an hour with a CPA who understands your overall financial situations would be time well spent, but there are some general rules of thumb:If you hold the asset for less than one year, your profits are considered short term capital gains - which are taxed as ordinary income at your standard tax bracket rate. 

Trust me...when it comes time to sell you will want every dollar of that profit because you will have earned it!

It will add value for sure but doubt you will be able to make profit on adding it.

You must look at it as what your getting in return (Knowledge + Education) as opposed to "giving" something up (50% of the profit). 

The credit card balance might be something he would want to tackle as the interest rate is 19% but again, if he pursues a property it's something he will have to consider as an opportunity cost. 

Initially, we were planning to split the rental income each month: 50% of profits to me and 50% to him each month.

Increase profit and maximize tax savings

The brokers have apparently changed.And to add to the mix, I've moved my license to another broker for a more profitable split in the referral fee.

Is this problem solver method a lot better than reaching out to sellers as an investor looking to come in with the sole purpose of making a profit?

However, it is still enough time to wildly profit on a 3 or 4 year Lease Option.