You'll definitely find a lot of helpful people on BP, especially among the Twin Cities members. 

A wealth of information on this site and among the members.

Yes, downcity is very nice now and I've been sensing a trend toward smaller cities among the early college grads and if you're looking at small cities, Providence is a good choice.  

Given that so far there has so far been no ill-will among the parties, and that the chance of a default is small on such a tiny note ($18k), a few $ hundred for some hand-holding and sound advice is reasonable, while spending $ thousands for no-holds-barred pre-emptive legal defense maneuvers would be excessive.

Spreading the risk of vacancy among the 4 units will give you more wiggle room to figure out the normal headaches and hiccups that arise when you are starting out. 

Sometimes the most obvious solutions are among the best.

The Note would contain all the payment/default provisions.Personal guarantees from the partners/principals who are not lending the money to the entity would likely be required unless this issue was negotiated.If real estate or other assets would be used to secure the loan -- not clear here -- a security agreement would be executed (following the formalities outlined above), then recorded among the land records... with real estate that means either a mortgage or deed of trust.Best course of action would be to hire an attorney to prepare the paperwork.

Read The Millionaire Next Door to give you a better idea of how widespread good personal money habits are among the affluent.

Your state is actually among the worst on that front, at least according to an acquaintance of mine - Keith Jurow (http://www.keithjurow.com/).

If they're not giving you any indications of why a property is looking like a shining star among the rest..