Get a solid investment portfolio and look toward a purchase in a few years.

Or, they just want to supplement their income with real estate.Many investors can get 30+% IRRs in their real estate portfolios but that does not hold a candle to the 100% return from their 401k matches. 

We moved from Reno to Cincinnati to be close to my family and I now work for my mother and step father as the Handy Man for their 20+ door RE portfolio of beautiful Victorian's.

We have ~$ 1m equity in our Multi Family portfolio.

Now, in my dotage(I'm 44;) I look at the portfolio and can clearly see that the theoretically lower cap rate properties have been substantial outperformers over the years on the metric of cash flow- so I'm pruning the challenging(and capturing the principal appreciation, *wink wink*) to replace it with the chill. 

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/commercial-real-es...A court-appointed receiver is taking another big step in his push to sell off a portfolio of local apartment buildings tied to an alleged Ponzi scheme.A broker has already lined up buyers that have agreed to pay a combined $7.7 million for six South Side multifamily properties owned by affiliates of EquityBuild, a Florida-based real estate firm accused last year by the Securities & Exchange Commission of running the Ponzi scheme, court documents show.Now, the receiver, Kevin Duff, is asking a judge for permission to put a dozen more EquityBuild properties—11 on the South Side and one in west suburban Maywood—up for sale.

Leveraging your expertise, I'd like to understand how you approach the situation I'm about to describe.Long Term Goal: Build RE portfolios using a buy-and-hold strategy by building up 40 units in the next 6 years.Situation: Small family owns their first single-family home which was purchased 2 years ago.Purchase Price: $320,000 (FHA, minimum down)Oustanding Balance: $300,000Appraised Value: $370,000 Mortgage: $1,950Est Rental: $2,300 (no expenses considered)Considerations:The basement may have been finished without permits, professional plumber, or electricianThe yard is large and potentially hard to maintainAn additional $2,000 is needed to prepare for rental or $10,000 in renovations before selling Therefore: What would you do as a starting investor in order to reach the goal stated?

They will service loans under 70k and if this is for an LLC they have great terms for their portfolio loan program. 

He mentioned our plan to one of his really good friends who happens to be a real estate investor himself (I've met him many times and seems like a stand-up guy) and his friend offered up a fourplex in his portfolio that he's looking to sell, but hasn't listed yet. 

The options can be he can buy the shares as the sponsor from the passive investor that wants to sell, the shares can be sold to someone else, the property can be refinanced and payoff some of the passive investors.So some sponsors I know buy to eventually sell and others buy to hold and grow the portfolio.