. - Fortunately, our transparent systems allowed the owner to catch it:)- Full transparency - we would have never caught this honest mistake:(An owner also needs to be involved to approve & fund large expenses: maintenance, property tax & insurance payments (if they want to be more hands off), evictions, etc.A great PMC should also have a chat with you annually about your future plans for a property and your portfolio. 

A good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

My question is can anyone point in the direction of someone who could represent me in this matter maybe a lawyer or attorney, or someone who knows the fire code and who can be clear and concise on what I need.

Do you get to write off all renovations on your taxes?

The interest would be tax deductible due to interest tracing rules. 

It's a balance of cashflow and wealth accumulation.One of the goals is to have tenants pay as much of your cost-of-ownership as possible (loans, taxes, insurance, etc.)In high-cost areas, any Class A or B property you buy will usually negative cashflow for the first 3-5 years, until rents rise enough to cover the negative cashflow + rising taxes & insurance.Investing OOS increases your risks because you may not know the market and you can't check on everything/everyone all the time.If you move forward with your buddies, HIGHLY recommend creating a solid Partnership Agreement!

Assuming property taxes + insurance added don't go above $1,100 total, you could maybe make this work. 

For several reasons (property taxes, politics), I would prefer to begin real estate investing somewhere other than locally. 

To navigate the nuance in the laws properly for compliance and to accurately structure our LLC, I am looking to consult with an attorney who knows immigration + business + tax laws. 

Technically it would be best to get a C Corporate or S Corp. to flip properties and since you are considered a dealer if you do several properties a year and this could have negative tax consequences in an LLC.