Often times, they actually take away from your settlement because they could not negotiate a large enough settlement from the insurance carrier, but you still owe them your fee.Give your insurance carrier and adjuster an opportunity to meet with you, explain the claims process, and address your concerns.  

While not shooting the idea down, he raised a number of possible concerns about future financing, such as possibly needing additional collateral or proof of other sources of income to justify repeated loans. 

This can prevent two extremes: under pricing below market and over pricing and having an idle asset.I believe this method will provide a proxy rent strong enough to do deal analysis with, particularly in a well diversified portfolio.Let math do the heavy work and massage as necessary for finishes and how fast (or slow) the unit needs to be rented.

Crying ….as you say not relevantHealth issue.... not relevantMarket rent...extremely relevantCost of tenant turnover....not relevant (cost built into expenses)The cost to you of reducing her rent is:late payments, chasing her for rent, excuse after excuse, ultimate eviction and vacancy plus a loss of $100/ month in the interim (plus a guaranteed lose of a minimum 1 months rent, if not more, before you ultimately get rid of her.)  

Part of getting into REI is so that we can spend more of our time together rather than spending more than half our day at other jobs and commuting, getting to work together is a big part of why we want to take this on (and the potential that RE Investing has for financial freedom).My Concerns: I originally thought I would develop myself as a contractor and do most of the work myself at first, but when I consider the time constraints (holding a house way longer to do the work myself, and the quality of work suffering) I realize this isn't an optimal plan.

@Andy Milby If you are at all concerned the seller may have another offer or try to sell to someone else, you have the right to record your contract on the property.

Meeting someone face to face, seeing the market, touring some props, and getting a first-hand idea of the operation is extremely helpful.

My major concern is the landfill. 

I don't completely write off any asset type particularly, I just know they come with pros and cons and if my DD satisfies those concerns, then I'll go for it. 

Is this a one time venture or does this partner have extremely deep pockets to keep funding your deals?