So, he tried using that. 

What checks and balances would you need to put in place to avoid this.I am a firm believer that you should tie any bonus to a metric that the company is trying to achieve.

Don't try to save money by not using an attorney to draft docs.

FICO is 780+ and currently have 4 other investment properties including 2 STRs in the same market we are trying to close on in West Virginia.

Try Citizens bank if there is one by you

However, with the rates and conditions of any triplexes and fourplexes we could find (we did find one, but it's in the Pendleton Heights suburb of KCMO, so we were worried about it being too dangerous of an area), we were wondering if it's worth it to buy a duplex and rent out the other half to help pay the mortgage, or if it's more worthwhile to rent an apartment and try to save up to buy a residential or commercial MFH later?

Like others, I don't think I am following what you are trying to accomplish and how partnering would further it. 

What are you trying to accomplish?

I am new here trying to get started!

I tried like 6 things at once and didn't do any of them well, took me a while to figure it out, and saying no early on will be a big help.