If you are confident in the ARV don't be nervous.

@Lance WoolvertonWelcome to BP nation.You've come to the right place for REI education and networking.There's a tremendous amount of opportunity here if you will take the time to learn and then put that knowledge to good use.The biggest asset you have going for you is your age and willingness to start now.Take advantage of that situation by learning what values are in your market and being able to confidently identify a good deals.You should know your market backwards and forwards before risking your money.You should explore if you are cut out to be a landlord.It's not for everyone.You need a certain personality to be successful at that strategy.As far as utilizing your home equity to assist in doing deals.You may have about $40K in equity if I understood your situation correctly.That's a start but you need to have other debt paid down and cash reserves for rentals.Bankers like to see your capacity and ability to pay down debt to extend credit.In short educate yourself and gauge your spouses willingness to support and possibly assist you in this endeavor.It's a lot easier if the spouse is on board.I'm in Owensboro,if you want to meet up sometime let me know.Ohio Valley Real Estate Investors meetup is in Newburgh IN the second Tuesday of the month at Turoni's Pizza, if interested.Good luck

I was offered 2 opportunities to invest in new real estate developments in the past year, and opted not to participate because I didn't feel confident I understood what I was doing.

Austin, How confident are you in these numbers?

I’m looking to get some hands on experience helping out an investor to help me gain a little confidence.

Speaking from first hand experience, I'm not stoked to attack the market for somebody who's not ready, willing, and able to take down what I can wrangle UNLESS I know exactly what the game plan is and I can maintain the same level of control, and I'm confident my client can pull this off.As far as how to structure it -there are a lot of other discussions that can give you several different ways to do it.

If you're confident about your expenses and it's cash flowing, I'd say go for it.

However to do that, you do need to know your baselines, how to operate, and be confident in your execution. 

he has come by the house a few times and had subcontractors come in as well, so I’m fairly confident he has some estimates. 

I am quite dedicated and have reading books, listening to podcasts, and networking for the last 3 years, and feel I am confident enough now to really get started.