Having him fund the down payment and maybe some rehab and then leveraging the rest of the property on a mortgage would make much more sense in my opinion.

BP is the place to be for RE education if you really want to learn as much as possible...

Once you have vetted the operator and find a project you like you can leverage the experience of a real estate professional to run the day to day operations. 

Educate your potential clients don’t bombard them with properties.2.

I don't want to lose 401k leverage, but I'm currently unemployed and loans/funding from banks is difficult (since I'm trying to do a 20% IRA down payment/80% financing/loan).  

For the past couple of months I have been educating myself of real estate topics as I am looking to become a investor.

I'm putting a substantial  amount of money down, so my deal looks good with respect to LTV and DSR, two things they look at. (1031 exchange, and I am more focused on net income after debt service as opposed to maximum leverage.)  

. :) After much reading and podcasting I decided to leverage the equity in my properties in the Palm Springs,CA  area and do  1031 exchanges for Multifamily properties in Memphis, TN where I had one 4 unit complex already. 

I am getting an education on this one and have learned a lot reading through previous appraisal topics.

The books recommendations can be found under the Education section of BP site.Best!