No matter how you do it have a back up plan in the event the mortgage company call the loan due.    

Our agent is not an expert on this type of deal but suggested a short loan term of 3 or 4 years and a balloon payment and written up by a lawyer. 

Not all loan officers are created equal so if you call up a branch, you are likely to get assigned someone inexperienced. 

Would anybody in similar position be interested in starting a partnership/s to go in on a loan together?

His solution was to wrap this loan straight into a loan I already had with him.

I only invest in A and  B areas  that usually makes renting some what easy .Having rentals loaned out to the wazoo can cause a lot of stress on owners to rent out immediately  .If the market softens up winter etc...

I work for a portfolio lender as their point person for construction loans, and now I'm trying to grow the division.

No, it was secured but apparently he used the same collateral for every loan he took out. 

College used to be a lot more affordable, I studied in Europe (where college is free) and it blows my mind to see kids with 200k student loan debt trying to get ahead on a 50k job.The housing market has started to drift apart geographically.

I also have two buy-and-hold rental properties and am passionate about exploring unique financing opportunities.Recently, I used a VA loan assumption to purchase an investment property at a 3.3% interest rate, which was instantly cash flow positive.