Thanks—pre approval was scary in the beginning, especially the credit pull—I don’t know why but that made it seem so much more official.

You dont have a valid title. you have a purchase contract and in our area you have to have specific language that allows it to be recorded and the sellers sigs notarized..

Keeping language to general terms is a great idea and reverting ownership back for non payment is forward thinking. 

Obviously some of the details are state-specific, so be sure to know your local laws and if you want to use any of this change the language up as necessary.

So how do my partner and I make this partnership official and be able to take advantage of low interest rates and qualify for financing?

It's about time "we the people" take action instead of awaiting action; get involved with local official organizations, get active and vocal, write e-mail and phone local representatives.

I modified the language from the REALTOR association contract for our state.

I recently got my rental agreement officially reviewed by a RE lawyer (yay) and he suggested a clause he sees a lot is “repairs under $50 are responsible by the tenant” or a number similar to $50.

It's now officially on my "to-read" list.

If you really want qualifying standards to be lessened, then contact your elected officials and let them know to make evictions easier and faster.