Quote from @Michael Poloncic: Three individuals signed a lease together, all friends, the lease is set up where each of them are expected to pay 1/3 of the rent.

If you have a good FICO, a decent down payment and closing costs, go ahead an do the first one. 

I was a student they offered to sponsor a deal for and it has cost me everything, literally. 

It’s definitely smart to evaluate the tax and cost implications of your funding options.

I'm looking to categorize my buyers and blast out a text message to specific groups whenever I get a property that fits their criteria.I'm sure services like this exist out there but I'm looking for the most cost effective one and I'd rather hear the best from you guys rather than from the salesman pitching their product.Does anyone use a platform like this and how does it perform for you?

We initially spent about 20 hours getting my accounts set up and organized in Quickbooks.

In 2014 it cost me about $42k to do this.  

Left me feeling like a basically have a retail/fulfillment person on my team so I'm a big fan and would recommend giving them a shot, especially if you're in a similar position as I was: Needing to furnish an STR quickly and cost-efficiently. 

What are you hoping to get out of the extra time, work and costs of having the LLC?

Understand the fees involved and calculate the total cost for an entire year of management so you can compare the different managers.