A relative who does long-distance real estate investing told me that I have to sign the final loan document and the transfer of ownership document in person.

I'm willing to help this person in any way I can.

And ensure to not intermix the business and personal between the two. 

Fund and Grow does ding your personal credit, and those inquiries will be asked about by the mortgage underwriter. 

I can do the parade of horribles for a personally owned rental property but suffice it to say that it is a long and robust parade and the horribles are horrible.

@Mark Towey I don't "farm" areas personally, it doesn't really fit the niche I'm personally going after, but what I have heard from some major agents in my market lately is that farming is not near as productive as it used to. 

If someone injures themselves and sues, they will sue the LLC, not you personally.

Be mindful that there are rules that the lenders want you to check off.Furthermore, there are other rules on the tax side where you want to normally be under to get the most tax benefits.The magic number in both instances is '14 days'Lenders want you to stay atleast 14 days to meet the secondary home requirement.The tax accountant normally wants you to stay less than 14 days or 10% of the days it was used as a rental to treat it as a rental and not as a personal residence.Best of luck!

None of which I never actually met in person. 

FYI - not legal advice.If it's not a formal assumption and it's a straight sub-to, typically the seller remain personally liable for the debt if the investor defaults.Essentially, what can the investor do better than the seller after refinancing the property?