The title and loan is obviously in his name currently but we agreed to fund renovations (and yes, we created a written agreement for this) and then share in the rental income profits.

Finally I’d had enough and just did it.

I currently have about $112,000 worth of equity and also have my VA loan tied up in the property. 

Every loan I crunched had us raising rents on the 3 other tenants to get even vaguely close to our numbers. 

I have this issue with my beach property :)Overall your approach to using cash and getting a loan later isn't a bad one at all.

I have another 5-10 years to retire and I do not want another loan.

3% 30 year loans from 3 years ago have caused a gridlock in the housing market.

@Sean Haran- thanks ...if you havent already done this - make sure to get fully pre approved with a lender  in order to make sure you can qualify for the loan amt you think you will need .

Get with a local banker and have them walk you through the process of getting a loan from them. 

If you overpay and you're underwater on your loan immediately, it limits your options to sell or refinance should something come up.2.