Until recently I wasn’t motivated to make more money or grow my wealth.

If you do get a second set, make them yours, and assign the tenants each alternating days to the other. 

I wanted to get the opinion of those on BP regarding thoughts on this strategy, if it makes sense and if there are any tax implications.

You may want to look into making them condos . 

A year or two feels very long in the moment, but it can make a huge difference. 

I would nonetheless be the contact person and primary decision maker with property management and my brother would be largely silent as per his preference.

Make sure to outline clear terms for repayment and the investor’s involvement, if any, in the decision-making process.

Though, this process will be the same for the other state (if you created a CA LLC you may need to register it as a foreign LLC in the state in which you are doing business/holding property).

I had to evict one tenant already and am being much more strict in my screening process.

Unable to estimate appreciation potential because it’s brand new and no room to add on or make improvements, but over time I do think some appreciation due to prime location.