I have handled a similar scenario through a JV agreement.Your friend can be a "consultant"/contractor you engage, and upon sale of the property he gets paid back $X (which includes his capital and profit%) and you 1099 him.Consult with your CPA.

I am in the early stages of evaluating multiple properties, so a little too early to be engaging an insurance broker for every property I want to evaluate.I am looking for a solid number to be able to plug into the handy-dandy BP Rental Property Calculator.If it helps, I'm looking at properties in Des Moines, Iowa (IA), but am still open to what you're seeing in other states.Any help/insight would be greatly appreciated.Thank you!!

There are multiple options for financing, but all are going to require some varying amount of down payment.

The only thing that came up was discussions about when a property is put on hold while multiple offers are considered.  

Just wondering when is a good time to start engaging the services of an accountant, lawyer, broker etc?

It has all the markings of a great cash flow market: stable employment, population growth, broad employer base, and nice rent multiples.

Ideally investors who have multiple properties with you.

I've purchased several books as well as attended multiple webinars to further educate myself in real estate investing.  

@Don Konipol: Are you using multiple lenders (i.e., lender A for Series A, lender B for series B, etc.?).

If you plan on managing properties yourself, it will become a full-time gig as you scale.Figure out what you need -- If you're a DIY kind of guy, you'll need deals, financing (multiple types), realtors, contractors and sub-contractors, appraisers, handymen, etc.Compare the two -- Doing it yourself provides excellent learning but requires a lot of time and trial and error.