While an LSA can play the role of collecting / remitting payments, accounting and enforcement in the event of default (foreclosure), its not necessary to have an LSA and may add extra layers of complication or expense.I’ve found that if you have a reliable escrow agent: they will handle the crafting of the note and mortgage, arrange for necessary signing / notarizing / recording of the documents & handle distribution of loan funds.

I inevitably would like everything to flow through a single holding LLC, but seems very complicated when considering Title, Mortgage, Management, etc.  

They're excel based and can be quite complicated. 

A good deal is a bit more complicated than the cap rate. 

Account Closed you are asking a very complicated question that cannot be answered in a single post, but I will try to point you in the right direction. 

It's just not that complicated.

This is a complicated debate.

I know it's complicated because 401k contributions are pre-tax.

Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be. 

To further complicate it, I went from from a 30yr to a 15yr in the process, so it not just as simple as taking the difference in the old mortgage vs the new one to calculate the costs of the rental property monthly.