I will usually open up the conversation asking the landlord when he likes and dislikes about being a landlord. 

I would love to have a conversation with someone regarding their experience with REITs.   

Find a good inspector that is trusted by professionals in your area and get a good pulse on the effective life of your big ticket items (Roof, HVAC, HW heater, etc.) and calculate out how much each will cost to replace, then do the math backwards for what you need to put aside for CAPex and maintenance. 

So my PITI on this after the first year will be around $2,000/mowater-$215/moCapex/Rep- it should be like a new house at the end, so I'm only factoring 5%/mo-$225Vacancy-$0, I've got six other properties in the neighborhood... no vacancy with college kidsMisc-$200Estimated Cashflow/mo- $186021% CoC ReturnMy question is this...... my original plan was to utilize the friendly financing terms at a 4% int rt-- better than my recent bank loans by a good margin....I was going to use the full 5 year term, and fix it up slowly over time... get the good unit rented out for max value, and get other unit updated to do the same..... then work on the big ticket items throughout the course of the term...... but then I got to thinking..... interest rates aren't getting any lower.... with the market hot... the ARV and appraisals will likely be friendlier the faster I do it.... it seems a downturn is due well within that 5 year term.

Just a few items I picked up on.

Legal conversation starts with examining the answer to why you believe you do not want to purchase the property with your relative as a tenants in common as individuals or in an LLC. 

The conversation starts with how much are you willing to sacrifice your definition of a "home" for higher investment returns. 

From that conversation you have enough information to know where you can negotiate and where you cant.

But all of it has to be on the curb, so the tenant can retrieve items if they want them. 

Luckily, I’m very confident, so I have no problem saying I’m new or starting conversation with strangers.