By the time the homes were finished, there was easily an additional 6 figures in equity built up.But like I said, this doesn't really apply anymore as these new builds can no longer be flipped and I don't think new homebuilders are selling cheap anymore. 

On the second, I bought for 78k, owe 49k, and it is worth 160k = 110k in equity, and that cash flows about 480 per month.  

All of those things lead to inequities in the partnership because when the split is based on active work all of that is impacting that.

I closed my first investment property, an off market private sale on the house next door, and have about 200k in equity. 

If I paid $150 per month I would still be making $1300 in savings and/or in equity. 

You look at a property and think my mortgage is $150k and the property is worth $200k - so I have $50k in equity.  

I used the following assumptions: Tax, Insurances from Zillow; Rent value of ~$900/month from BP Rent Estimator; Repair 8%; Capex 5%; Management fee 10% for a house and 0% for an apartment; Vacancy 5%. 2) Returning the $12k borrowed money may be a challenge--maybe I'll just offer my relatives a percentage in equity rather than returning the $12k money, or hopefully a refi will help me return the 12k two to three years from now.3) I'm sure the first deal will not be perfect but I definitely want to learn from the experience--hence, the question is would it be best to start with a house or an apartment?

Unfortunately the barrier for entry into a lower-end home is about $1 million now, and property taxes are low (likely less than $5k).I currently have a financed home with about ~250k in equity (2% interest rate), and we have about ~220k in cash. 

But again, I have two friends that partnered and went from never having owned real estate (not even primary) to buying a 50 unit for $8mm and raising $1.8mm in equity on this deal.

We would receive about 125k in equity if we were to sell.