Once you've done this a few times, you'll get the hang of what people do and how they take advantage 

You are already at an advantage by having partners who you can rely on and trust as you grow your business.

Most HMLs are going to require you put about 15% of your own cash in the game anyways, so I don't see that as the advantage.  

Since you are a pro member, take advantage of the various BP calculators/reports!

But there are plenty of advantages of equity partnerships too so whatever makes sense for you.

The advantages of local are numerous and the disadvantages of far away are numerous.

How can we use the fact that he is a first-time home buyer to our advantage?

Now that said, my first and several deals after were all done with private funding from family and people in my circle, however, I already had some training, and was self employed for over a decade before I did this so I was not exactly new to business, just new to real estate.Getting your license is a great idea and advantage, so I would recommend that and I would also recommend learning as much as you can of ALL aspects of a flip before you put your money or more importantly, thatbof your family and friends at risk.

Also, not sure which would be more advantageous in my market or even which neighborhoods would support the different types of strategy. 

I want to become an investor but I know that with working with real estate from being a realtor it would give me an advantage in finding deals.