First deal: give half away to someone who has done it, or keep it all and learn the hard way?

A framer I've worked with for years called me about his aunt's house. She's in assisted living now, the house is empty, and the family wants it gone without listing it. I've swung a hammer on maybe sixty jobs and I know exactly what that house needs. I have never once put a house under contract or sold a contract to anybody.

There's a wholesaler here who has offered to JV. He'd take half, and in exchange he handles the contract, the title company, and the buyer. Most of what I read says that's the standard first deal advice, half of something beats all of nothing, and I'd learn the sequence by watching it happen.

The other side of it is that half of this fee is real money and the lead is mine, from my own relationship, on a house I can price better than he can. If I fumble it I lose earnest money and some pride and I'd know the whole process next time instead of having watched someone else do it. My state's rules on what I can and can't do here I'd have to get checked properly either way.

I genuinely don't know which of those is right and I don't think there's an obvious answer, so I'm asking.