Most deals are structured with a due diligence period.

@Shatavea Wallace First steps: 1) Find a lender - I recommend someone local, ask your real estate agent who they can recommend or start calling around2) Find a real estate agent if you haven't3) Have some cash for the reno (whether it is hard/private money or personal cash); no matter how you structure, you'll need some backup $ (how much depends on how large your project is)4) Read in the forums/education articles here on BP https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

You as the buyer think you are saving 50% of the transfers by structuring things this way (assuming buyer and seller split transfers according to local customs)... and years later the state discovers the ownership change and suddenly you're responsible for 100%.

I need advice on structuring the partnership and ensuring that all investments are handled fairly and equally.

How does depreciation work on STR's and does the financing structure affect it?

The first thing to know about crowd funding solutions is that many are structured in a way that they would not qualify for 1031 Exchange treatment (e.g.,  membership interests in a limited liability company that are treated as partnership interests).  

I am in the process of purchasing our first commercial property (retail/office) and want to setup proper structure for it.

So you would need to structure the syndication with a % of the property being inside the entity and the domain of your regular limited partners. 

The puzzle I'm trying to solve is how to structure this partnership. 

@Matt Medina Typically, unless you've done extensive structural improvements to the property, you're not going to be able to remove the Mortgage Insurance without a refinance within the first two years.