Could you have positive cashflow with minimal equity left in?

Ignore the marketing BS where they pretend to be "private money," that's the same as the guy at the car dealership pretending to be your friend.TLDR: A private lender is someone you already know and will generally beat a HML, who in turn is someone you don't know that is out to maximize profit and minimize risk.

To me it seems minimal.

It's not easy to do it right so that you minimize risk due to the amount of time you need to spend researching.

Going all in is fine, but minimizing risk and making sure you know your numbers is important. 

Your post history indicates that's all you talk about. 

Back to the original question - I think one LLC would be sufficient in this case, it allows you to have the appropriate protection and minimizes the operating costs of the LLC.

That way the local partner can manage the property and therefore minimize expenses/maximize profits with the hands-on attention real estate rentals require.

Find out what they require of their new agents and how much it costs to obtain and maintain this license and assess whether or not these costs justify whatever you have intended in your full or part-time real estate career.The process isn't cheap by any means, but you can minimize costs depending on where you decide to hang the license. 

I also will remove them if the tenant prospect indicates they have their own, rent is not reduced.