Any information on what classes I should be taking or what I should know to prepare myself for success would be appreciated.

Simply be prepared for late payments, chasing tenants, vacancies, evictions and extensive tenant damage.

Of course, a title exam is always advisable but the process in Ohio naturally eliminates nearly all liens in the legal action assuming the title work preparing for the sale was thorough.

The partner doesn’t want to go through the hassle of preparing the financial statements, tax returns,etc... annually.

As long as you buy using market fundamentals and are prepared financially, you should be just fine.

Partnerships are not directly taxed, but are required to file form 1065 to report the distributive share of partnership income and expenses.Translation: You add hundreds (maybe thousands) to your cost of tax preparation, and you don't receive any additional tax benefits. 

On that note, am interested in preparing for the short side, b/c with a 10 year cycle and a 5 year memory we may be closer to a decline (secular as well as cyclical this time).Thank you in advance

I've always used spreadsheets over 20 years (as a small business owner/tax preparer that has filed/prepared 1,000 applications/forms/returns; I've never used a bookkeeper or tax advisor) that I built based on IRS tax forms and basic accounting/bookkeeping.

Have you ever prepared an Expense report for your 9-5?

I would not have hired an accountant outside of the country to do your taxes.Furthermore - a 1031 can add some complexity to a return.If you decide not to use the current accountant - you should at the very least ask an accountant to review your work product.Regardless if a written contract was in place or not - he did the work and you should not stiff him for the time that he spent unless you can point out that he is grossly incorrect with the return that he prepared.