Business Structure Question: LLC? S-Corp?

[Sam Lee]

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are finalizing our HELOC, and we intend to start our rental property investing journey this year. I've been doing a lot of reading, both internet posts and books, and I'm trying to figure out the best business structure for us. This is what I currently have in mind:

1. Setup individual LLC for each property we buy.

2. Setup a "parent" company that will own all these individual LLC's.

My question: what is the most tax-saving way for the “parent” company?  An S-Corp?  An LLC?  An LP?  (I read LP might be good to reduce inheritance tax for my children when the time comes.)  What are pro’s and con’s?  Does my approach have any merit at all?

I’m in California, and I do not mind long distance relationships; we can leverage technology.

(This is my first post, any advice will be appreciated!)