I've been lucky enough to form a very good relationship with one of the previous tenants and the new tenant, and unlucky enough to inherit a professional tenant in the making from previous landlord.

If you form a one-member LLC, you must obtain an EIN for it only if you elect to have it taxed as a corporation instead of a sole proprietorship (disregarded entity).

I'm thinking the investors form a partnership and lend the money to our LLC.

If you buy something yourself and hire someone to manage it, you should run your pro-forma calculations carefully to ensure that you will not evaporate your cash flow in management fees, vacancy, unpaid rent, maintenance.There is no free lunch, especially not in 2014, in Real Estate.  

It is also true that the larger institutions (B of A, Wells, Etc.) typically will not release any inventory prior to it being given to an agent, but it does happen in very samll numbers.For other smaller institutions, it still requires an investor to be able to form a relationship with the person capable of delivering such inventory prior to agent marketing.

Learn a bit about them, open up, form a friendly exchange as quickly as possible (before the main course). 

It all comes down to the math and investment pro forma.

I say its high time to form a group on Facebook!

It's worked out well for me so far but I also have partners on the ground that have helped me out.A few of us living out here in Korea helped form a meetup for real estate investors.It began as a few members on BiggerPockets getting together.Anyways, I've found it helpful to network with other investors living out here.

It is best to form a team of competent members.