Bumblenard....pretty sweet....

You should first sit down and go over your expectations for the partnership and the roles and time allotted for those.The purchase and management is pretty easy - he handles the purchase and you handle the management.

Prices in Florida are pretty high now, so, you might have to do some digging if you want good cashflow, depending on your strategy.

Is this process pretty self explanatory if I just follow the correct steps? 

I understand home designs are pretty expensive, and cannot just be applied to any lot/existing neighborhood.

This is a pretty hard question to answer as it depends on what your goals are, but I'm doing a ton in the Cleveland and Columbus markets and seeing great success. 

Either way, if you link your bank to Quickbooks Online, REIHub, or other online accounting software you will be able to manage each feed pretty easily.

The renovations are going to be higher end and the house is pretty simple with a detached garage but no closets in the house. 

This is pretty much 0!

It was pretty scary.