No matter what anyone says upfront, about how it's purely business, it ALWAYS changes the relationship.

Seems like you ought to be telling US what results you get rather ask us to predict your future.My crystal ball has an old Ray-o-vac battery and is leaking some kind of fluid so it's up to you, buddy.

A business strategy that relies on appreciation is pure speculation.

The property you are looking at sounds like purely a long term appreciation play and yearly tax depreciation.

First, I don't know anything about investing in garages...But, I imagine that from a financial analysis perspective, the pure numbers are pretty easy to run.

If (in you example above), you are owed a $20K stake in the company, you should try to determine the value the business (based on income potential, industry, investment received, etc) and get a percentage ownership of the company that is proportionate to the valuation.In other words, treat your fee as a pure investment based on valuation, and have the business owner treat you as they would any other cash/equity investor.

As a Florida Mortgage Broker, I've been helping my pre-approved borrowers obtain this savings for almost 20 yrs now.Unlike Seller Credit, which the buyer has to actually pay more for the property to get the seller credit, Real Estate Commission Rebate is generally pure Tax Free savings for the consumer.

A way to keep an eye on the property is to perform routine maintenance like changing the filter in the furnace (which a tenant will almost never do on their own) and changing the batteries in the smoke detector. 

You get lockbox codes so you can walk through them alone (no more waiting on realtors, wasting their time, or vice-versa)You can see a property and get an offer to the selling agent within 10 minutes, direct contact with selling agent or sellerBuy/sell your own properties which gives you an extra 6% or so pure profit depending on broker splitGet taken more seriously in generalEliminate a middle manYou learn a lot about real estate in general while getting your licenseCons - Money spent on getting and maintaining licenseFind broker to work under who is investor friendlyDifferent expectations, professional liability and obligations (you are no longer just a homeowner/seller) Only saves you money if you buy/sell at least a house or two per year

There are no emotions it's purely numbers.Is there skiing in Boulder, CO?