But now the ones I work with know I don't want to play the game where they put something under contract and I buy it from them. 

They may try to play the "emotional support" animal nonsense but you can still deny them. 

You become both a better lawyer (because you know the business side of the deal) and better investor (because you know how to play the string out and can allocate risk better than a lay person).

Anyway, glad you found a way to pay it off that made sense but I love sharing the asset depletion approach since I know so many great real estate investors also play the tax strategy well enough to end up with DTI issues.  

Even the best property manager can only play the hand they’re dealt.

Sometimes the market does not play the way we want it to play.   

If you think she knows how to play the system, have your attorney  handle it and use this as a learning experience.

I am out of FHA mortgages so I have to play the refi/payoff game as I find new properties....

Generally, that's why I wait until about 60 days to limit my pain and try to play the "I am being more generous then the law requires" which helps to buy a few sympathy points.

In your case, the partnership is a reason to have asset protection in place.Here is a diagram that should give you some more insight, although it doesn't bring into play the partnership question, which complicates things: