FYI, the houses I viewed that were in similar states were priced so cheaply because essentially all of the value was in the land. 

We completed the sales paperwork within the 72 hour window they allowed us and the bank ratified the contract the next day.

I have had good success getting approvals with probate / shortsale properties (less paperwork because the borrower is deceased) but the discounts have been @20% of FMV (which if the house needs a lot of repairs works for me (I provided constrution bids, police reports, ect...).

It will be a week or 2 before all paperwork is processed and my license is hung (assuming I pass).    

It seems that I can fill out the paperwork, turn it in to the state recorder and be done with it?

If you're doing buy & hold and want to keep the paperwork to a minimum, you could simply title the property to a land trust that designates what each of you have as beneficial interest in the property. 

It looks very nice and it really depends on the cabinets/flooring/etc. to be visually appealing.It can be more expensive and the general rule noted above is very accurate that it is essential for higher priced homes. 

My question is this: in a previous business, I had an LLC in Wyoming rather than in Tennessee due to TN's onerous paperwork, bad website, terrible gov't customer service, and higher fees, all of which I experienced in an earlier TN LLC.

-credit check (you will be subject to regulatory rules ), but the point of hard money is that the asset being lended on is your primary security - you must be ready to foreclose   -paperwork for professional HML companies is more or less like a standard loan package with some different terms.  

The paperwork details everything that's not in tip-top shape - tenant signs it & receives a copy.