Some people find success in approaching the listing agent directly but there are potential pitfalls to that strategy as well like Joe mentioned above.

Are there any potential pitfalls or gotchas that I should avoid when looking at land? 

That's another thing I'm looking for: any pitfalls to avoid early on in a partnership.

I’ve only been an agent for not even a year but I was active in real estate for a long time before that and worked with some great agents that definitely saved me from some major pitfalls as I was still gaining experience as an investor.

Any pitfalls to look out for?

Any advice on benefits or pitfalls of going the LLC route would be greatly appreciated!

Many people use promissory notes, but even those have pitfalls.

I’ve seen some AirDNA analytics on some of our nearby markets but I’d love to get your thoughts on what I should or shouldn’t do to help improve my returns and avoid pitfalls.

Take the time now to do it right (a la David Green's book on Long Distance Real Estate Investing) and avoid the pitfalls that Turnkey companies are fraught with. 

My comment does not take away from the shady behavior of the agent but here is the pitfall.........I agree with @Joe Splitrock and also hate the term cash for keys!