As to what this means in terms of equity split, reasonable minds can differ. 

Is that a widespread thing, and if so what sort of terms can we get?

I'm having a weird feeling due to the ease, the really good terms and the fact they aren't putting liens on the properties.

Conversely, rental property activities reported on Schedule E of your 1040 tax return do not present the same way.Third, all rental activities, including short-term rental (STR) activities, within a partnership tax return are reported on Form 8825.

I'm fully licensed agent and tbh, I've seen some things where agents barely make any effort on properties, so yeah I hope some get out of the business and leave it the market share to the ones who actually know about real estate.I do think Redfin/Zillow and big platforms are waiting on something like this to happen to fully take control of the market which IMO is more scare then the latter.

Brendan,In banking terms you might be "Risked out" meaning too many mortgages which equal "Excessive Tradelines" and those two things equal high risk.

However, in my opinion in the long term, the extra fees end up costing the owner more and just leads to a more strained relationship over time. 

It seems like a great deal in the long term, but will be very difficult/expensive to make it cash flow for the first couple of years.  

Not sure how close you are in terms of proximity to the university but my Dad bought property near a university for over 30 years and eventually a developer came in and bought everyone out and added luxury student housing and shopping with a huge payday for all the owners who had bought many years before.

Put in the effort, build relationships, prove your value, and improve your odds of finding someone to help launch you on your path.