I can however assist you if your bank just wants someone licensed involved. 

.-  having your  own agent is smart to do  ...a good agent will provide assistance from  start to  finish  and  will be  avaiable to  help solve  any issues  .....having your own agent will  also allow you  to know the advice  from them is solid and not  stilted by  the  agent  representing the seller at the same time  ....its  not worth  saving  2-3%  of the  commission for the  problems that  might arise  ( espeically  if you are  not a seasoned  buyer / investor)

We specialize in these types of loans and can assist if you would like, please let me know if you want to chat!

Please let me know if I can answer any questions or assist. 

It's rented to top-notch tenants; an MD resident, a doctoral student, and a physician's assistant--all of whom are the best tenants imaginable.It all boils down to: take the house that nobody wants (but which is in the best neighborhood in town), and turn it into the house that everyone wants.Of course, the downside of this approach is that there's a lot that can go wrong when changing the floorplan/functionality of a property...tearing down walls often isn't as simple as HGTV would have us believe.

I see posts in the BP Community about a collapse of the values of MF properties (reduction of cash influx from COVID, rental assistance programs, increasing supply from builders, lagging impact of recession, etc).

Stay local takes a ton of risk out of the equation.You could house hack....and I've seen a couple of really nice ones lately....you could buy a 2-3-4plex.If you like the STR model, don't buy a condo....most in Dallas area prohibit STR.On the search front, get a great realtor to assist you. 

If you want to remain friends with this old buddy and not go another 15 years with out seeing him I would just let normal conversation happen about each others work and personal life, and when he is ready to jump into ownership he may or may not request your input or assistance.  

You get access to the bootcamps, 10 weeks of training, networking, and assistance for $200.

This could include a lump sum payment or a promise of relocation assistance (such as help with finding new housing).