@Travis TimmonsI had the same reaction as you did, but I held off on posting since I don't yet invest in STRs (I'm all LTR so far, and looking into my first MTR).Buying an STR "to offset income" makes me nervous as well...

Can you pull the cash off the business credit card?

They see foreigners as one-off buyers so they're not too much concerned about building a relationship or their reputation in the eyes of somebody who doesn't live there for that matter.

First house was a house hack, so saved me a big chuck right off the bat. 

Plus, in Georgia, the tenant can be kicked off the program if they trash the property or don't pay their portion.

I could be totally off key here.

If you want safety, pay off the property.

You must be pretty good friends - most veterans (including myself) would never let a non-veteran assume their loan b/c the VA loan entitlement is not restored until that loan is paid off.  

If I put myself in the shoes of the outside partner/investor friend, I would be very concerned because: 1) unclear and/or potentially conflicting business plan, 2) even with clarity in the BRRRR business plan, unclear in the viability of pulling it off with these market conditions, 3) the chances of dispute seems very high, especially if you're going to live in. 4 years ago, I went through a  similar thought process when purchasing an investing property with mainly my family money, while considering an outside investor to rehab for higher STR ROI... 

One of the most successful investors that I know in my area told me that his business really didn’t take off until year 10.