Keep it in your name, get insurance, and most of all, be a good landlord.

However both will require a lot of speciallized knowledge. 

From PA, my biggest challenge is using the 1% in these areas of Monmouth county.

I would love to meet up and get to know some of y'all and talk about options.Brian

It involves knowing what is happening in the overall industry which would help our clients.Related to this is the constant knowledge of local, state and national laws. 

Here's a comparison of the two:1.

Off-market property, which is likely the case if you were buying from a wholesaler, has no financing or appraisal contingencies most of the time.  

Yes, you could deduct your own meals when traveling out of town on business and having an overnight stay.

I will also throw out another idea.

Airdna says that you could be losing out on 20-30% of revenue if you are rating 4.9 or lower on OTA's.I think you have the right idea though, make sure your investment can cash flow as a long term rental so that way you have a good back up plan.