You file Articles of Formation with the state, get a Federal EIN and a bank account. 

The formation process will be state specific.

I've considered using ZenBusiness or consulting a local attorney for the formation process.

I’m looking for a format.

Its more specialized of an area of law and you shouldn't let the formation of the LLC become the tail that's wagging the dog.

. $1500 "discount" for LLC formation is probably 900 for the cost and 900 for them filing the form.

Your payment is the same every month and the lender will collect more interest in this format because the borrower is paying interest on the entire loan amount from day one.

This may be your best bet as it lets you hold off on formation, but its important to make the title company and the lender aware ahead of time so they can update title and prepare the loan docs with the correct entity name.

You should have a transactional real estate attorney represent you when negotiating the Joint Venture Agreement and formation of the special purposes entity (i.e. an LLC) that you'll be a member/limited partner in.

Embrace the 9-5 but make it a 7-7, the hard work you put in those formative years will let you later look back and reap the success.