You lose all of the control and these are long term investments - but in my experience the returns match what I had on the active real estate and I am hiring professionals to manage the assets.  

Then you can read a more in-depth book like The Book On Rental Property Investing by Brandon Turner or The Unofficial Guide to Real Estate Investing by Spencer Strauss.You need to get a firm grasp on two things: the ways to make money with real estate, and how to find deals that match your goals.P.S.

They were not a good match for us but it never hurts to be polite and kind.)

We wanted this client's project to stand out, but a bold and modern aesthetic just didn't match the house.

While short-term rentals in areas like Kissimmee, Florida, can pay for themselves and offer lifestyle benefits, the ROI typically doesn’t match what I see from my traditional portfolio of long-term rentals in North Texas.That said, short-term rentals can still be a great choice, especially if you're drawn to the area and the opportunity to combine personal use with investment income.

And if this is illegal in some states...what exactly is illegal about finding interested investors and matching them up with a funding source?

Ideally this would be done after doing proper diligence and making sure that the sponsor's skill and expertise matches the opportunity being presented.  

Does financing period match the investment period?

PLRs will rarely match your proposed transaction structure.

Symbolically, fire is eventually an opportunity for re-growth.