And now that I actually have meaningful questions, I've come to the best place around to hopefully take my learning to the next level.My plan is pretty straight forward (at least I think it is :-).  

They are both great at learning the fundamentals.Also - here's a couple articles you might enjoy:The 21 Best Real Estate Investing Books EverHow to Start Investing In Real Estate at a Young AgeOh - and don't forget to set up your Keyword Alerts!

@Jason FietWelcome to BP and congrats on locating your 1st REI acquisition.However, I see some key words in your post, namely friend, money, business.Sometime they don't mix well and can even become very volatile if things are not going right.So, my suggestion would be for you to form a LLC with your friend to ensure that all business related matters are handled accordingly under one entity.Please take the extra step and time to do it right before you get started, as somewhere down the road you may be glad you did.Good luck and best wishes with your future REI activities.

Don't miss The BiggerPockets Podcast - they are great for learning how others are finding success.Also - here's a couple articles you might enjoy:The 21 Best Real Estate Investing Books Ever How to Rent Your House: The Definitive Step by Step GuideHow to Be a Landlord: Ten Tips for SuccessOh - and be sure to set up some Keyword Alerts- especially for "San Francisco" so you'll be notified when people mention it here in the forums.Thanks again for introducing yourself!

@Isi Nau  @Michael Borger Is it pretty straight forward to turn a fee simple condo into a leasehold and sell it to someone?

Pretty simple, straight forward, and honest.

You may also want to use the search function and/or set up a key word alert for refinance and HELOC. 

I offer 70,000 or less and since you're desperate you accept.Incredibly simplified and unlikely to ever happen that straightforward, but that's the general gist as far as I understand it

:P That @kw.com next to your email address lets me know that your go-to lender should have been able to answer this completely straightforward (to a lender) question!

Be sure to add "London" to your keywords and you'll get an alert when I post the next BP meet-up.