I'm not entirely sold on the idea of note investing over buying and holding rental properties. 

Others might be fine with taking risk, but least by doing this a person can get an idea of what might go wrong.e) Legal document analysis: it will usually take a few days to go through the legal document properly, as almost inevitably there are tons of gotchas that either have to be explained, or mitigated with a side letter.That is the very short summary of what I do.

I'm starting to do some research on it now but would really appreciate some advice/recommendation/information on whether it would be a beneficial route or if it's a good idea.

Probably a good idea to do it in the state you're in.

The easiest, and only, way to guesstimate the property tax and things is to look at a property already built in the area that is similar to your idea and use those numbers. 

I know that I stand to make more money per renovation by just paying for the work, but I'm attracted to the idea of partnering with him for a few reasons.

I am a rookie investor looking to invest in SFH to hold as rentals long term.

I hold a tight reign on the funds only paying when the purchase needs to happen (Look for financing for certain items if you need it).You should talk to your chosen designer about the budget for the project . 

We are in the ame boat, I have no idea how I can do this.

I have spoken to three attorneys about this and one had no idea about it.