When you sell, we split the profit 50/50%.

My question is, should I hold onto the SFR hoping to gain more appreciation but risk wiping out any short term profits or sell now, take the money and really make it work for me?

The first 3 years he pays his mortgage and profits 100 a month and we handle the management.

My minimum is $1500 and I feel that's reasonable.If you stand to make a nice profit, and you have a good agent who is working hard and is a valued professional, try and pay what the work is worth.

Could you rent it to two strangers and cover the mortgage plus maintenance and still cover a profit?

Jennifer,Yes, you will be required to file a tax return due to the amount of income you earned regardless of what the net income may be.You should file it regardless of profit or loss to ensure you start the statute of limitations for audit.

You can find it on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/Zv0ZphFrank also has another book called '10 Commandments for Real Estate Investors' that I reread every other month or so as a reminder: http://amzn.to/15ikXL0Ken McElroy has two great books on apartment investments and one on property management:The ABCs of Real Estate Investing: The Secrets of Finding Hidden Profits Most Investors Miss http://amzn.to/HdXVf1The Advanced Guide to Real Estate Investing: How to Identify the Hottest Markets and Secure the Best Deals http://amzn.to/1bcWx50The ABC's of Property Management: What You Need to Know to Maximize Your Money Now http://amzn.to/1d518JKAlso see Ken's BP interview on Podcast 052: Buying Apartment Complexes, etc. here:http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2014/01/09/bp-podcast-052-raising-millions-ken-mcelroy-rich-dad/I think these are the place to start, but there's many more let me know if you'd like to see more.

Assuming your fixed costs are 15% of the resale value (on the high side because you're borrowing the money and planning to spent 2-3 years) -- which would be about $125K -- that puts your profit at somewhere between:$750K - $500K - $20K - $125K = $110K (for a $750K resale) and$1M - $500K - $20K - $125K = $355K (for a $1M resale)Assuming it takes a year to build/sell the project once you start putting money into it, that puts your returns between:$110K / $645K = 17% and$355K / 645K = 55%.That's a big range, but even the low side is pretty respectable.Here the extra things to consider:1.

deals 7 and 8 had a partner - he found the home, I fixed it up, managed the rehab, he sold it, we split the net profit...these were ok deals we split $20,000 on each deal but they took 5 months and 9 months respectively due to issues with contractors doing shoddy work....so if you figure our profit at an hourly rate these were not barn burners...but hey it's $20,000 I didn't have before, so I am fine with that#8 paid $265K used hard money, spent ZERO on rehab, wholesaled it in 12 days for $360,000, that was a nice one (sad back story on this one, owner of the property was busted for selling drugs and arrested, then deported to Mexico, so wife took over the drug selling biz...then she got popped, in order for me to be able to close on the home, Escrow had to go to the jail to have the wife sign, then hire a mobile notary to drive down to the SD/Mexico border to have the husband sign) death, divorce, drugs, disease....the 4 D's that create real estate opportunities, sad but true#9 paid $205K used hard money, spent $25K on rehab, sold for $300,000#10 paid $90K for 3/2 SFR, used hard money, spent $3500 on rehab, rented out for $800/month, slight negative cashflow currently (-$150/month), market value is $130K now, plan on refinancing into better loan in 3 months, will cashflow $300/month after the refi#11 paid $108K for 3/1 SFR used hard money, spent $3000 on rehab, rented out for $850/month, slight negative cashflow currently (-$190/month, market value is $140,000 now, plan on refi into better loan in 3 months, will cashflow $150-$200 after the refi#12 paid $125,000 for 4/2 SFR used hard money, spent $0 on rehab, house already had a tenant in it paying $900/month, will be raising rent to $1150/month, market value is $160,000, plan on refi into better loan in 3 months, will cashflow approx. $500/month after the refi#13 invested $50,000 with my parents to buy a triplex, for $530,000, property cashflows $1000/month from day one, and value has increased to $650,000--------------------------------in current pipeline/in escrow - thru these deals I've made good friends and I've made my hard money lender some good money, hard money lender let me know he has $5,000,000 +/- sitting in the bank looking for houses to invest in, and he's given me the green light.

After paying commission to the agents and no closing costs, I was able to profit approximately $20,000.