I have used that method several times. 

I want to become a CPA as it caters to self-employment of a Real Estate Career where I would obtain client through one services and be able to recommend them to another ex.

I believe a lot of investors steer clear because of the high unemployment and crime, I think investing in Baltimore provides employment opportunities for local businesses and making affordable homes available to families helps stabilize communities and hopefully drives demand. 

Should I just loan the funds to the business at a certain interest rate, then that gets paid off first before we divide up the profits 50/50 or is there some other method that makes more sense?

It's a great place to start learning about the different strategies you might want to employ to reach your goals!

For the last 18 months, my salary has been just over 60K per year w/ my current employer, but this month, I got a big promotion (almost double my current salary to 120k).The tricky part of my situation, is that the promotion I got, is actually being paid to me from a partner (affiliated company) and I actually get two separate paychecks, both W2’s from each company respectively.

I was self employed and have spent the last 35 years living in Australia.  

If you're slightly outside of qualifying, such as proving income because you're self-employed, your DTI is too high, no tax returns, etc, then there are wholesale lenders that can help and their rates start in the mid 4's.

Can you share with me some of your thoughts and experiences using this method? 

I am a single mother and I am currently employed as a school crossing guard in Fort Worth.