(They claimed thousands for electrical using what appeared to be a fake electrical company, and they never had someone out to even check electrical beyond the general.) 

If you live in your short-term rental (STR) property in a future year after claiming depreciation, depreciation recapture does not occur immediately.

The policy was $2200/year ($1.1M Bldg coverage and $1M Business liability coverage in this apartment LLC) and I haven't had a single claim in my past 5 year history.

and the property had a private dwelling value appraisal much higher than the public property appraiser claims. 

He was able to talk to the sister who has conveyed this information and is claiming to talk to her sister tomorrow.

They claim that their clients are seeing a large return on their investment but would love to hear from somoene who has actually worked with them. 

Of that 1,750 only 180 claimed surplus funds. 

I guess I could do some work-arounds -- maybe reserve one unit in the first purchase for use as an AirBnb, and reserve my own time in it when needed - instead of claiming it as a primary.Are either of you (or anyone) familiar with a finance product/loan that will allow me to purchase under $150,000 (w/ strong credit) and do much of my own work and live-in a portion as a primary residence?  

Just curious, is there any tax benefit to filing as a regular partnership and issuing k-1s to ourselves that show a loss?

They are very likely to respond, but keep in mind you can't get dollars from a turnip.My experience is wear and damage are higher with some S8 tenants and not at all with others, just like regular tenants.