When you bring nothing to the table, it’s because you’re producing something else, which is just as valuable as money.

I’ve been friends with him for 5+ years and I trust him, I just worry that I’ll be the only one bringing knowledge to the table from researching and he’ll just learn on the job.

If you can't "refi" with a sufficiently large loan to pay off the first loan, you need to come to the table with more cash (I guess a "cash-in" refi). 

However, I didn't want to leave money on the table if tax deductions were available, so I looked into it and nothing really qualifies.I can't give them free rent and then deduct that, because money hasn't changed hands.I can't donate money which they then use to pay me rent, because that's just manipulation.I can only deduct true financial donations or if I give them the property, meaning they own it and are on the deed.

Even with options you need to be prepared to cover.As a real estate investor I only need to bring 20% to the table fir my purchases and get tax benefits I too.If your stocks consistent performance at least 4-5x better than my TK investments I suggest you keep doing them, especially if your TFP is much more than 10 years in the future.

They do go off the table faster than other so you will need to capitalize on the opportunities when you find them. 

When I read real estate books, I tend to look at the table of contents first and flip through to those chapters for the content I am seeking.

Another great resource is YouTube, with endless amounts of content.When looking for someone to mentor you in wholesaling, I recommend first determining what value you can provide to someone else that is in wholesaling based on the skills that you have and bring to the table.

In NC a 30-day eviction is considered standard and one of the first options on the table.

If that wasn’t enough at the closing table we get a call from our atty Steve Cuda saying hey we’ve got an offer on the back 20 acres for $25K per acre which would give us a “close neighbor” but would have our all in purchase price of an 18,000 sf house at only $250,000.