Ready to invest, but previous short sale preventing first step

[Anthony Rosales]

Let me begin by explaining our current situation. My wife and I are ready to purchase our first investment property. However, a previous short sale still lingers from 2012 and is preventing us from getting loans until 2017. We have another couple that we will be establishing an LLC with to start purchasing multiple rental properties over the next several years. Our partners have great credit and is essentially waiting for our short sale to clear before our LLC purchases our first investment property together.

I'm hoping that there are other creative ways we can get started sooner, rather than waiting another 2 years for our short sale to clear.  Below are some questions I hope to get answered.  Thank you all in advance.  Additional suggestions are also appreciated.

1. If our partner bought the first property exclusively under their names and we "invested" 50% of the down payment, how would we eventually transfer the property under our LLC?

2. If we were to make the purchase under our LLC, how would our previous short sale affect our joint credit?

3. How do we deal with tax implications fairly for both parties?