I was looking for some advice (viable target areas in Cleveland or Ohio in general, financing options and credible PM/realtor contacts) from the experts here though especially if you are in a similar boat as mine (reside in Canada/Ontario area and invest in US). 

What followed after that was an offer from them to start making weekly payments until my entire Inner Circle membership fee was refunded over 10 weeks, followed by sending me a new e-sign settlement doc with those stipulations in place of the original - even after I refused the "payment plan" option via email earlier today (as you can imagine, given the experience thus far, the last thing I'm interested in chasing my money/answers even further/longer).

What other options would be good?  

I may not even go the partnership route but I am interested in just learning about all the options I have. 

What about the utilities, property taxes, maintenance and repairs, capex, etc. are any of those optional for you?

One of those options is to let the tenant know you won't renew their lease, then offer them the opportunity to leave early if they find another rental.

Your best option is to terminate the current manager and switch to one with better processes and communication.

From a liability perspective I am anti-glass tops ever since, there way too many other options.

We've done demos with all of the big name PMS options and are finding big gaps with all of them, mostly when it comes to payment processing.

If the spouses co-own an LLC together the only option would be if they married couple resided in a community property state allowing them to disregard the entity under Rev.