You need a written agreement with the other party before you start the process. 

Any guidance in this process would be greatly appreciated.

I've read some things here about sub-to but I'm still a little hazy on the process.

@John Warren and @Jonathan Klemm thanks for the Mentions.The City rececntly terminated it's "Eazy Permit" process and replaced it with the "Express Permit" process.

I discovered this AFTER I bought my first rental, and was emotionally crushed

For some odd reason, emotions seem strong on this board over the terms, and many here have their private definitions.

A direct booking site still has to process a credit card payment.

Having gone through the process once, it's very clear how to keep growing for the next one :) Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

It would be walking through the whole process of finding and buying as well as setting up an LLC. 3 weekly calls for a year if wanted. 50/50 profit split up to 25k each. 

My investors usually close within a month but recently had someone doing a short sale so the process took two months just for them to agree on the sale amount with the bank.