I'm a Wells Fargo shareholder because it's so well run and profitable.

Shareholders are not happy!

Typical investors are associated with them as shareholders, not as managing members.

Paying it off pays off your cheapest shareholder, who doesn't ask for any upside in equity and only asks that you keep their principal intact and pay a low, fixed interest rate.  

I believe we were also told that shareholder distributions needed to be allocated according to the ownership percentage as well (i.e. if distributing $10k to shareholders, that should also be split 60/40). 

Well, I think so too and if you want one bad enough, I'm sure you can figure out how to get someone else to help you pay for it.As far as treating people fairly, or being some kind of cut-throat ruthless jerk, this is just business and the sole purpose of my company is to make a profit for the shareholders.

If property is held in a company, expenses are deducted against the companies revenue.Obviously the taxation discussion is more detailed than this little blurb ... go see your accountant :-)2) Income "sharing" - If the real estate is held in a company, it is easier to have multiple owners of that company (each with their own class of dividend paying shares) which means the retained earnings of the company can be "shared" amongst the various shareholders: ie, a spouse, {adult} children or grandchildren {you need to be careful paying dividends to minor children as the CRA taxes them at a higher rate {search "Kiddie tax"}}.3) Trusts - if your objective is to build a significant real estate holding which you may wish to leave as a legacy to take care of those nine grandchildren, then you will want to consider the possibility of a trust down the road.  

Some of these lenders are careful with their shareholders.  

We also don't do a ton of first mortgages.Generally speaking, credit unions are going to have the better interest rates because they don't have shareholders or paid board members to deal with.

When structuring an S corporation for fix and flips, it's important to adhere to the IRS rules regarding reasonable compensation for shareholders who are actively involved in the business.