Be sure to iron out the operating agreement.

It doesn't matter how many are involved, how much money or even if they're related to you.With your typical syndication structure, the passive investors are Limited Partners (LP) and you as the operator are the general partner (GP).

@Lemanuel Turnipseed the only way you could legally own and operate a STR in Orleans Parish would be to buy a property that is zoned commercial or mixed use. 

In general you'll need an operating agreement between you and your members of the LLC that outlines everything.

If you use private money it's very easy to add the partner to a new or existing LLC via an operating agreement.  

Can anyone help me with thought process here or best approach on order of operations in expanding? 

You're supposed to figure out your annual NET INCOME:Gross Rents - Property Taxes - Insurance - Property Management - Estimates for Mnt & Vacancy = Net Operating Income (NOI)NOI / Value = Cap Rate

It seems there is some variance in what is considered an operating expense. 

Zillow Group Inc. is pulling the plug on its tech-powered home-flipping operation after deciding that its pricing algorithms weren’t accurate enough to build a stable business."

My calculations:_________________________________________________________Income:4 Mobile homes X $350 lot rent = $1400/month $1,400 X 12 = $16,8001 2bed/1bath house X $650 rent = $650/month$650 X 12 = $7,800Total Income = $24,600___________________________________________________________Expenses *Estimated:Taxes = $1,750 YrInsurance = $1,500 Yr*Landscaping = $1,200 Yr*Utilities = $850/month = $10,200 Yr*Maintenance = $25/month X 5 units = $125 X 12months = $1,500 Yr *Capita Expenditures = $35/month X 5 units = $175 X 12months = $2,100 YrTotal Expenses = $18,250_________________________________________________________Net Operating Income:Total Income / Total Expenses = Operating Income Percent$18,250 / $24,600 = 0.741 - 0.74 = 0.26 = 2.6%Net Operating Income Ratio = 2.6%______________________________________________________Cap Rate with current asking price:Cape Rate = NOI / Property ValueCap Rate = $6,350 / $260,000 = 0.025Cap Rate = 2.5%___________________________________________________________Cap Rate with $100,000 offer:Cape Rate = NOI / Property ValueCap Rate = $6,350 / $100,000 = 0.0635Cap Rate = 6.4%__________________________________________________________Cap Rate with $60,000 offer:Cape Rate = NOI / Property ValueCap Rate = $6,350 / $60,000 = 0.1058Cap Rate = 10.6%_________________________________________________________Cap Rate with $75,000 offer:Cape Rate = NOI / Property ValueCap Rate = $6,350 / $75,000 = 0.0846Cap Rate = 8.5%