I became licensed last month and would be happy to help if you decide to go that route.

The route from Newton shouldn’t affect the Triad.

If you're going to explore that route I would suggest asking for referrals from people who are actually using their lending services and take the feedback.

If you do choose to go the Fannie/Freddie route (or can qualify) then your loan will have better terms.  

Vanguard sounds like a good choice as I am planning on going the rather conservative route 50/50 to 25/75 total bond market index/ total stock market index.

That said, I have determined that the best route of action would be to target distressed homes that are not listed for sale.

If I wanted to sell my houses in Two to three days I would do it by posting Atleast a dozen white or yellow corrugated bandit signs at every street intersection .

The general consensus is that the 30yr option is the better route to go if you are trying to grow your business as it gives you more cashflow to continue to purchase your second, third, fourth etc property. 

You win because you will get a piece of real estate all fixed up after you friend works on it.Your friend wins because he is compensated for the work he did.If you do decide to go the partnership route, spend an hour or two with an attorney and have everything in writing.What is each partner's ownership percentage?

Obviously if you paid the money towards the 5.5% loan it would ultimately save you a little bit more money in interest, and I would suggest going this route if you weren't able to completely close out the other loan.