We are sitting on golden assets that a lot of folks want to own but can't due to its barrier of entry.

The very first thing you need to do is sit down and learn the value of cash and how to best invest in real estate.

I would go a step further and that say your investment goals/results should sit secondary to your life goals.  

Your statement that this will be confirmed w/escrow is risky, you should not depend on others, they make mistakes, title insurance is insuring the prelim, not what the escrow agent says ... read the prelim(s).  It's

I am sitting down with my local bank early next week to discuss the options. 

@David Jenkins Ultimately, we can all sit around and debate what is best for you.

He is holding strong on him doing NOTHING other than provide 50% of the upfront cash while wanting 50% of the assets.As a side note, he (my friend) is sitting on a huge pile of liquid assets to use towards "investing".I know he is very nervous going into REI, but if we pull this off and he feels comfortable I know we can take down many more properties.

The place is something like 350 units total sitting on about 70 acres of land and the closest neighborhood w houses is about a a mile away from my unit, so I don't feel like dragging a mower all the way out.

@Aaron Deane@Jason Carter just gave you the holy grail for getting things done while sitting in your office.

@Jon S., It worked great.