Seems sketchy to me...I readily share resources and contacts with anyone that needs them and I get BP referrals to myself by the dozens daily from other BP members I've spoken to , assisted with a referral that will solve their needs, or funded loans for.  

The dilemma is the hard money lender is only willing to finance the deal if I deed my side of the property over as part of the deal.

@Bill Gulley - can you provide your candid expertise, please?

(Keep,in mind he may have hundreds of clients and all he has to sell is his time, which is finite, and his expertise, so asking for both without remuneration may run afoul of the norms in professional services)...the BP cpa and tax folks are most gracious and I hope they get some leads from their free work here and they may have spoiled us taking on complex, tricky tax questions for free in real time (but note even they have been quiet lately probably buried under 2015 taxes)...Maybe see if you can work out an hourly rate for questions and consulting in addition to the return fee if you think it may help the relationship...

Now for my dilemma.

Anything I am able to learn through the BiggerPockets community in preparation for this first deal, I will be excited to share with other newbies joining this site in the future.Thanks in advance, I look forward to learning from the expertise of this group

This is not my area of expertise by any means... but wouldn't you pay penalties to pull the money out?  

Appreciate your educational expertise and input @Matthew Kreitzer :)   Which reminds me, I don't give legal advice to anyone in a particular situation or circumstance, I just talk about my opinion from my experiences as an educational point.

But you will be quoted an interest rate and APR in the 4s, and none of the official paperwork will say this.Take P&I + PMI, plug it into a financial calculator, and solve for the interest rate to see for yourself. (1) 1.15% was what the last 5% down owner occupied deal I did worked out to be.

LLC with S Corp election that come up on the forums, and the best advice is to discuss your questions with a lawyer and accountant with some expertise in real estate.If you'd like to chat I'm happy to discuss what I did and why with my business partner.