Maybe equivalent to a late fee.Find out if the tenant gets paid every two weeks or on the st and 15th and try to align it to that.  

Or an agent who prefers to get paid on salary, showings and open houses and a lower commission on actual sales - and therefore won't have his interests quite as aligned with yours?

I also want someone in the remote location to be aligned with me financially and in other ways.

But since you don't have written contract, the contractor can demand payments for what he believes is work already completed and you don't have a whole lot of recourse since you didn't have this payment schedule pre-arranged... its not unusual to have 3-5 payments over the course of the project that align with milestones of project progress. so divide the entire project bid into thirds or fifths and pay out based on what your contractor agrees with and work these out in advance next time.

I think it helps align the PM with the equity provider to find good tenents and minimise vacancy and damage, when incentive is usually other way (PM makes money for finding new tenants and usually takes a piece of maintenance charges).How would you value the deal for the 2 partners?

These can be controlled or not and will be some of your biggest expensesAsk about their long term acquisition plan and make sure it aligned with yoursAsk how they handle tenant issues currently and how they plan to do so from afar Also start with this free guide on how to analyze property:http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2010/06/30...And welcome to BP - We are all here to help with any questions you have

@Mike ReynoldsI understand your thinking, but it is not in alignment with the tax code.If you wish to put tax-sheltered IRA money into real estate, everything needs to be done entirely at arm's length.  

It's up to the buyer to know enough to select the right properties and understand the interests of the turnkey provider may not be aligned with their own.  

I've reached out to my 1031 company for clarification.Before posting, I looked at other 1031 sources online for confirmation of these expenses and not all of the sources align, hence, my sanity check here with some of the 1031 experts.

The point is, whatever way you choose, make sure it aligns with your values and goals, and throw your heart and sweat in it.