It's nickname (among many) is the Scenic City, which is derived from it's location on the TN River on the Cumberland Plateau.  

Properties: 3 Assets, 122 doors totalKPIs we've listed worth tracking:Guest CardsLeasesExpiring leasesRenewal ratesOperating expensesVariance to budgetCashflow for distributionCapex costsNumber of work orderOpen work orderCompleted work orderTurn costsTurn timeGuest cardsApplications: Cancel/denials/approval with explanationsGross Income, Other Income, Operating Expenses, NOI, Capex spent, Cash available for distribution, current cash balancesAP / AR balances

Some years back I started up a window & door line, as a manufacturer direct distribution to end consumer.

Or does California interpret just living in CA and collecting quarterly distributions as "doing business"? 

Additionally, depending on state, you will need to be keeping very detailed records of every owner contribution and distribution to properly account for money flowing in and out of LLC.  

Are you suggesting that the properties would still be owned individually by me and my partner (in their own single member llc) but we setup a separate management company to receive rent and distribute out to us? 

No, but many REIT dividend distributions are eligible for 199A treatment (20% deduction), or else you can put them in an IRA and DRIP them which is a great way to accumulate very large positions on a tax efficient basis. 

Now, if every year we take out distribution equal to the net rental income, it would keep the basis to zero.

Can I get distributions from the trust even if I am not retired or partially retired? 

For equal % members, how do you determine contributions, distributions and exits?