Think about the extra income you need on top of that to pay for retirement(if it's just quitting work early),  medical bills, and unexpected expenses.

Non-issue.

Any 'non corp' person or entity that you paid more than $600 in a calendar year for your rental needs to be 1099d.     

Without the violations, the unit is just non-conforming, meaning it doesn't meet the current code. 

We have several weeks go by without any issues - and then some weeks it's non-stop. 

All of our properties are held in LLC's where the operating agreements allow non-members to inherit a financial interest in the company but non-members are not allowed voting or decision making rights unless they are unanimously admitted as a member.

Consider spending some time in these areas to get a feel for the market and see if you'd enjoy living there. you ever dealt with ground up non owner occupied construction loans? 

As a non EU citizen, I will need a permit to purchase certain types of properties, except for residential (unit in an apartment). 

the 500k tax treatment will always be there.. ( unless code changes) .

Non-landlords don't understand but this is the way it goes.Very, very sorry to hear about the water bill.