My first blush idea would be to work more billable hours as an attorney to accumulate your share of the investment and outsource property management.

As you accumulate properties you will need to have more and more "reserve" money.  

The question I'd ask myself would be this:Is this the only cash I've been able to accumulate in my life?

To master personal finance, you need to master BOTH income AND expenses ... you will know you are getting there when dollars magically start to accumulate in your bank account.

And when it doesn't sell, it accumulates high days-on-market.

Buy real estate as soon as you can, the longer you wait the more of the power to accumulate wealth you give up. 

She is very knowledgeable about this particular industry, but doesn't have any cash accumulated to get this started.  

Preferred returns are accumulated and not necessarily distributed on a monthly or quarterly basis.

He seemed like a really great guy and wrote several books about how he accumulated tremendous wealth by utilizing the same strategy in Orange County.  

You need to take advantage of the long term fixed rates you can get with a secondary market loan when you are beginning as they become harder to obtain as you grow.I am not suggesting the LLC because there is an incredible need for it, especially if you aren't going to have much equity, but rather as part of the process.I have always believed if you don't do things correctly when you are small, you will not do them correctly when you are big.This conversation doesn't really even get to the heart of why you may want an LLC to protect what you may have accumulated in wealth so far in life non-real estate.Thanks,