Our lawyer wrote up the loan doc, they borrowed $60,000 to renovate 123 main st, I got first position lien on 123 main st, they paid $500/month interest and the $60,000 lump sum back after 12 months.

Take the following with a grain of salt, as I am not a lawyer, nor am I in your area.

If you don't want to use an attorney, you can make an LLC through the secretary of state website https://www.ohiosos.gov/businesses/information-on-starting-a... or other software platforms like zen business and rocket lawyer. 

But SEC lawyers assured me that it's all negotiable. 

Disclaimer: I did ask this to the lawyer who formed my LLC but he has been slow to reply so I thought to ask this group.

Follow the lease, letters from lawyers, see her in court?

Lawyers and CPAs will recommend these things because they make money off you.

I'm talking to the seller's broker, but I would like to find my own people to assist with the due diligence period, such as an SBA loan broker, an accountant with experience doing QoE for this kind of transaction, and a lawyer.

Crazy people are not scared off by seeing a gun, they are enraged and empowered.

Asset protection in case one of us getting sued (I think it was a BP podcast episode where a lawyer told the story about the son hitting someone with the car and the family of the kid that got hurt suing them and them having to surrender their house.)