So having a joint account makes sense BUT my team and I will also have separate deals outside of this partnership with this other person.

What is a standard listing period for exclusive right to lease agreement?

In other words, the person with the most toys, wins... not the person who paid the least amount of tax.

My most gracious analysis would be this (and this is just me): (1) I think the owner is a very kind man - I’ve talked with him personally.

We took the depreciation on our personal tax return in 2022.

I would vet them intensely and make sure the lease is personally guaranteed. 

We are shooting for 3x income, but might settle for as low as 2x, if the person seems like a good candidate.

Haven't personally used either but they are both on my radar.

As long as the person hasn't used RAFT in the recent past then RAFT will cover up to $7,000 for first, last and security as long as they qualify.

It is a bit of a gamble, but personally, I always get my own bids from people I will hire and either take a credit on price or have title issue the checks directly to those contractors to get work done as soon as I close.