I'm definitely no guru, but there seems to be an opportunity to make this deal sweeter with less of an out of pocket hit for you.

Hello to all, My name is George and i am definitely interested in starting to invest in real estate.

Do you need me to provide a definition? 

Hello John,Great advice from @Todd Fithian, I would definitely second that!

@Blair Boan I do not have an answer to your question of which choice you should make, rather I would like to persuade you to an alternative path.  

I will definitely keep you in mind!

I've definitely made some money both on the cash flow and appreciation (appreciation was a surprise in most cases).But that being said, the exit strategy is difficult and I can see why people lose money on these ventures.Four pitfalls I see:#1 Lack of control:  Depending on property managers who in most cases do not have your interest in mind.  

If you guys continue down that path, get everything in writing before you start, so that there isn't any "I thought we were going to do it this way..." issues that come up later.

I definitely intend to make it to an REIA meeting or two over the course of the year.

I don't mind doing much of the bookkeeping myself for now, but will definitely need help setting up the account properly.