They may want you to do it through them using their contracts and also their commission split? 

On top of that, the remaining profit would be split two ways. 

You rock! 

I would split profit with him 50/50. 

They are just rock solid houses (though many, like this one, needs cosmetic work).Thank you for any (and all) suggestions on how to proceed from here. 

Little Rock, Arkansas is another fantastic option with inexpensive homes and a great rate of return. ;)To answer the question about 2 homes for 200K or 3 homes:Focus on your target ROI and your investment objectives.

Your cash on cash is different.If you pay all cash for a property then you have the net income after expenses as gross before tax profit.If you put less down you can split out your cash among multiple properties.

It does require establishing trust before you dive into the personal finances of others.When I ask, it's usually about solving a problem, needing to know to figure out what the seller walks` away with at closing, if the don't have a Realtor, they don't have a clue.Some deals require an equity split on the seller's side, for many different reasons, they won't know what they are getting unless you run through the numbers.Another is simply telling them that in financing the deal I have a few ways that I can utilize the existing loan and that could give them a better price (no, I'm not paying more for seller financing!)

To me, the split is worth it because of the knowledge I will gain for the long run.

I split the money up into 3 houses The key with a 1031 exchange is the total value of the new amount has to be equal or great than your pervious.Why do you want to sell?