joint ownership with...gasp...friends

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Before you warn me of the pitfalls of investing with friends, please know that we have thought carefully about this and understand what we are possibly walking into.

That being said, here is the situation: there are four parties involved, and together, have about $300,000 for a down payment. The dream is to buy a multi-unit dwelling with at least four units for each of the parties to live in, but no more than 8 units, renting the others. My question has to do with financing: we all have very good credit and stable employment. In a situation like this, would a lender give us one enormous loan and put all four parties on the title? We were considering dividing ownership when it comes time to sell or move by keeping track of all downpayments, mortgage payments, and maintenance payments and calculating a strict percentage of property value.

Could I please get some feedback on lending possibilities and things to watch out for, as well as models for determining percentage of home ownership in a joint situation?

Thank you,
liz