How would you go about structuring a deal for a partner of buy/hold? 

The condo HOA has the master insurance that covers structure, exterior, and roof.

3) What is the fee structure?

My accountant has told me that I will always have to file tax on this type of investment as ordinary income rather than capital gains no matter how I structure it.

However, I understand that with me being structured as a single-member LLC, I cannot pay myself an hourly rate for the work I do, or in other words have my LLC send myself a 1099-NEC at the end of the year.

Unless you plan to pay cash for your properties, get pre-qualified for an investor loan, so you will know how much credit you will have access to.The end goal - This is usually something like $10,000/Mo. income, in present value dollars.Time frame - The shorter your time frame to reach your goal, the more initial capital and credit you will need.Your plan does not need to be complex or in any specific structure.

Depends on how it is structured but essentially the other buyer is more or less giving them $10k in non-refundable earnest money (or the seller is holding refundable earnest money and using it to buy a car, not very smart).

Is there any need to set up an LLC or any separate entity for passive multi family investments? We set up an LLC last year for a couple of rental homes that we have but are now branching out into some passive syndicat...

My question is how do I protect my interest or structure the contract so I don't leave myself open if something should go wrong?

Now if you have a partner/partners, it can be a great way of having a formal business structure to build a property portfolio and can also stand as a real, functional business for liability purposes.