There are definitely pros and cons to each so I figured I would just lay out a few benefits and personal thoughts: Small banks/brokerages:Pros:- Some regional knowledge of the market- Possibility of more creative lending guidelines with bank specific programs- Sometimes they have competitive rates for their areaCons: - weak balance sheet (more strict on some guidelines, no wiggle room, inability to be flexible or grant exceptions because they cannot afford to hold less than perfect loans)- Can't scale with clients to different markets- Usually limits exposure to individual investors (they don't want one investor to be too big of a portion of their balance sheet)- Lack of experience with multiple solutions (tend to have 2 or 3 loan products they sell and are too niche to provide tailored solutions)Large banks/brokerages:Pros:- Large compliance departments that understand individual market guidelines (typically each state has specific lending guidelines that augment the national baseline)- Ability to scale into multiple markets with same lender (licensed in many states)- Impossible for individual investors to "outgrow" a large bank's balance sheet (not concerned with one investor's concentration)- More lending solutions available for different scenarios- Often comparable or better rates given the game is volume basedCons:- Can be more difficult to get fast responses if the bank/brokerage does not have good follow up systems in place (or if the underwriting/processing staff gets overwhelmed)- Bad large banks can feel less like a relationship and more like a cog in a factory (less personal)Overall, I have worked from both and worked with both as a loan officer, branch manager, and as an investor/client myself. 

I'm not sure our individual experiences are correlated to what's happening overall but I've definitely experienced many more last minute bookings than ever before.

Quieter tenants translates to: Older individuals without children or noisy pets. 

It’s a fantastic way to connect with like-minded individuals in your market who have been in your shoes.

There’s a demand for individual rooms being rented out.

1099 means they are their own boss it is very hard to hire individuals and not have them be w-2 employees. 

If you’re asking how two immature individuals can handle their differences without legal costs then the answer is that they both have to give up the scorched earth policies.  

Basically are the two of us treated as one "individual" with this structure? 

I’m sure I’ll incorporate one at some point- there is a lack of expertise right now so people tend to think it’s crazy, as the above thread shows.

If you're already pricing in a negative cash flow, I would strongly suggest you read what happened to another individual on BP: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/1204955-almos...