As I'm sure you're aware,  assisted living is a very desirable investment that a lot of folks are going after right now.  

Also appraisal was something to be desired.

It's going to be less comfortable and more work, but a SFH in a good location is going to appreciate much better than a duplex in a less desirable location. 

Your desire to avoid a few pennies in taxes makes for a very convoluted description of the proposed transaction.

This is due to their desire to avoid hands on involvement that would require them to operate their business efficiently.

Especially if you're open to something a little smaller in an area that's a little less desirable. 

I will hold him to 10 weeks and constantly remind him of our list date so we can make our desired profit. 

It seems Eastern TN is highly saturated / competitive for STR's, but it is such a desirable location for STR's. 

I don't want a 506C, accredited investors only, as many of the 50+ friends i have brought in wouldn't qualify especially when they were young and starting in their careers, and only had big grad school loans and not close to the >1mil net worth requirement (congress about to raise to >3mil), but they had good income and desire to invest to provide for their kids. to OP, Forest, ask people you know about RE syndications, ask CPAs who have thousands of clients, ask RIAs registered investment advisors, who have tens of thousands of clients, a reputable GP will provide records, access to other investors, allow you to come to shareholders meetings, will explain their compensation, will talk w you about Deals that went bad or didn't perform up to expectations, believe me we all remember every detail of those and will explain why and what they learned from it.

As a former CA resident (SLO) I understand the desire to invest where less capital and more landlord friendly state so I moved to Nevada.