Depending on your experience level though it might make sense to flip 2-3 houses first to understand how to deal with contractors, lawyers, lenders, agents, etc when the stakes are lower.Even though apartments are commercial properties, getting some of the basics under your belt will result in 2 key benefits:You will have a good idea of estimates for normal repairs to the units and can better understand what properties will take once you purchase them to bring them up to your desired standard for the area.Your potential investors might have more faith in your performance if you have some other investing experience under your belt - might even want to consider getting 1-2 rentals to help with this "resume building" if you are going for a number of investors that may not have personal knowledge of your capabilities. .

If not, you would have to assess the costs of running a gas line plus the unit compared to sticking with an electric range.

You can contract in your own name but most banks wont Accept your offer because there is liability with a bank selling REO to individualsNote that this is just a basic explanation and there are more moving parts but you should get the ideaIf you want me to explain it in detail just let me knowAll the best

There would basically be no recourse if the partner decided to say "screw you".

You might call that agent's broker to ask about a better contract, I'd bet a multi is available through the Board of Realtors, if that broker doesn't usually have such business he may not stock 500 copies for the agents.I agree with Ned, begin with a basic meeting of the minds with the seller before sinking money into deeper negotiations and due diligence.$2500 may be steep for a boilerplate contract, but if he's representing you, doing the contract and taking you to closing (not closing but getting you there) that's cheap.

So basically they are taking care of keeping track of all the funds. there is a closing.

Basically my plan is to show him some of my rehabs in progress, explain how the business works, how I would use his money, how it is protected, etc.

Looking for some input here (on what is likely a pretty basic question for all of you.)

So basically he's mentoring me for half of the profits, which I think is fair.

;-)Marvin, there are several "rules of thumb" in this business to help you quickly evaluate a deal to make sure it passes some basic tests.