Offering up a Partnership with a good client of mine - thoughts?

[Craig Garrow]

I have a good client of mine who shares a common interest in self storage facilities and is fairly flush with cash. I currently manage four rental properties for him, and I know he’s a fairly hands off investor, often going on crazy hiking or kayaking trips from weeks to a month or more on end. I’ve been thinking of approaching him with an idea for a partnership and starting to go after some of the Mom and Pop self storage businesses with him. My thought initially would be to put in about 15-20% of the cash to purchase, plus do all of the Management and “boots on the ground” stuff and get a 25% stake in the business. Does that seem out of line? I know taking 100% of the “headaches” off his plate is certainly worth something to him. Any tips or suggestions?