I have not yet found a broker to sponsor me.

Or even go no debt on a core portion of the portfolio to remove any chance of default . 2c)  for syndications and crowdfunding, I limit myself to sponsors that have full real estate cycle experience, and did not lose money in the last downturn. 

I am a member and corporate sponsor of the SWFL Reia group.

Dave, anyone can do it, in the sense that there are no licensing requirements (that I know of, anyway) to be a deal sponsor.  

A deal that is overloaded with every kind of fee you can think of probably means that the sponsor isn't wiling to rely on performance compensation.  

The downside is that you would have to feel comfortable with the vetting the sponsor, and then turning over complete control to them.

Tax specific questions are determined on the nature of the project and the sophistication of the Sponsor.

These large professional sponsors have mature deal flow pipelines; so, it has been an intentional strategy to generate deal flow for me in a market where others are having a tough time finding properties that meet their criteria.It was a lot of work leading up to this stage, even vetting the passive syndication strategy.

But if you want to be a passive investor go into a syndication with a sponsor who has a proven track record.

For a more passive approach but still with potential tax benefits of long term ownership I would probably invest in an outstanding sponsor's syndication or NNN commercial leases.However, if the only capital I had was borrowed from my home, I would address that issue.