The formation process will be state specific.

If we take the opportunity cost of money approach, if you have $40k in cash you could either put it on a deposit in a secure bank, earning around 5% per year in a very passive way.

I wouldn't necessarily say that this shift is here to stay, but we definitely have to make some changes to our acquisition process to accommodate creative deals and novations.This shift is due to the saturation of the major markets, resulting in newcomers in the business offering too much for properties and not delivering on those promises, realtors promising too much for listings only to have them heavily decreased or canceled six months later, and the small increase in supply that we have experienced since the beginning of the year.But yes!

And: well earned!

I understand the thought process behind these remarks, but they reflect a lack of experience in what it takes to be a successful Landlady. 

I am finding a lot of sellers don't even have proper financial docs prepped for the sale and that causes even more hiccups in the process. 

If you were both two members in an LLC, which is very common, and you wanted to go separate ways, which is also common, then you would probably want to go through a "drop and swap" process.  

Working on growing our fledgling RE business and looking forward to learning more about the process and options. 

It's to report all transactions/earning to the IRS.

Mechanically speaking, that whole process is what a title company provides, and it definitely simplifies things (and generally provides better assurance of a good outcome) to use a title company whenever possibly.