My wife and I borrowed money from our folks for the down payment and bought a 4 bedroom fixer when we were in College.  

When we found boxes of bullets in a house we bought, we donated them to the local police department for their target practice.

I have absolutely no practical experience in REI.

Education also lets you practice soft skills in an environment without major consequences for mistakes.Plus Freshman year was the most fun I've ever had in my entire life.  

I am new to the whole idea of real estate investing since my parents didn't go to college so I never had anyone teach me how to be succesfull.

The biggest economic drivers around here are medical,(Scott & White hospital) several large corps, and several colleges, along with a portion of Ft.Hood personel. 

What are your thoughts about this deal if you don't mind looking at it:Looking for advice on offer/max price.Also looking for what I missed in calculations.First the hard part:This property is in rural TN in a town of about 20k population.Current owner has been renting to local college for basketball players/coaches (both boys and girls teams have used it).

I'd like to go big or go home and jump right in with commercial property (apartment complex, etc) but without having "Big" knowledge, I've decided to go in small until I build up some best practices and equity/experience and then work my way up the right way.  

Is the practice that the banks and hedge funds use open to LLC's, partnerships, sole proprietors,etc?

To help raise money on the deal, I'd be advertising the modified, "happy dance" deal to your database and marketing for future JV partners.Yes, you can co-name your funding partners on the assignment of mortgages...that's a very common practice and done all the time.