Thanks and I look forward to working along side everyone of you!

@Tiffani Crenshaw,I feel your pain, we have 1 owner in our preferred neighborhood, that owns about 15 houses-- all the POS crappy ones that look like no one gives a crap, boarded up windows, trees growing inside/along side of them.. those are his..   

I'm mainly concerned with how to structure it so that I can be best positioned to earn profit alongside of him and keep things moving in the right direction.

I like the high limit insurance coverage alongside LLC or similar protection, not just one or the other.I highly recommend you push your comfort zone a little bit and explore by talking to smaller lenders.  

Get a mentor that can walk along side you and even work for them for free while they do their business and you can learn first hand some of the things they do before you do it yourself.  

Right now the reality of that actually happening ranks alongside unicorns and leprechauns.

I would be partnering with a an experienced developer as joint venture so not only will I have a mentor, but I will be able to learn the ropes along side of a seasoned professional.

Your friend didn't mention this but it goes alongside the handyman statement.

Having your name appear along side your entity does not prove "alter ego".Regarding the other issue, which is actually discussed in another thread (hey, why not kill two birds with one stone?)

Basically this is to get my feet wet and experiment a little in real estate alongside purchasing a property for our future.Please feel free to pick apart my thinking, I've never done this before and I welcome constructive feedback no matter how scathing!