Charles - how dare you refer to this as a penalty, when they clearly have labeled it as a "tax" :(To me it's clearly a penalty and that is the intent, but the semantics are what they are ...

Marie Poe:To be honest, I currently have money at 10% (no points), but it's not limitless and I'm getting busy.I'm in the exact same situation.

Now, to help entertain our fellow forum members, who are undoubtedly getting bored by all of our semantic quibbles, I offer the following modification to the paraphrase of Balzac's not nearly so damning original quote.

Sure, you can play semantics and explain the differences between them - all that doesn't matter.

The most important obligation that he has at that time is honesty.

Well, @Michael Greenberg, at 71 I'm not likely to change my basic belief about faith or honesty in humanity at this point of my life.

;)  To be honest I was planning on doing a lot myself, or at least hiring the trades and running the project myself. 

Ladies and Gents,I think it's time to inject a little intellectual honesty into our discussions.

I talk to people, look for honesty in responses and consistency in the story they tell, sometimes that's worth way more than a "good" score in itself.Finally, you can ask them to fill out an application through Naborly website ($25), however in my experience few people would go through the trouble of uploading their documents, filling out all the forms and paying $25 just to apply for a place.

My late father had a partnership with a family member, nephew.They were friends for as long as one knew them, however later probably due to differing expectations, duplication and poor communication the deal went southIt was an informal arrangement on a commercial property.They were doing the exact same thing (duplication of duties)To be honest i am skeptical of partnerships unless its the variety of bring a deal(syndication/flip seeking private lender) and the other is a money partner (private lender/passive investor).Maybe also listening to a mentor where you stand to gain from the other investor's experiences and contacts (sponsor).