I have used Podio with Investorfuse for a year now and it's not as intuitive as I would like.Freedomsoft is far more intuitive, easy to use, and is being improved daily.Rob Swanson is the new owner and is making continual improvements all the time, so it's only going to get better and easier to use.  

My intuition is telling me that filing a tax return for out of state real estate investment is more involved and I might want a "real pro" filing my tax return. 

Thanks so much for the help Hi Michael,The full answer if you're a DIY sort can be found here, the worksheets at the bottom and the info above it.The intuitive answer is that, assuming an REI friendly lender and honest tax returns, the accurate cashflow of each property will be calculated, and you shouldn't be worried about DTI if you are buying good cashflow positive real estate. 

It can seem counter intuitive, but in some regards owning more properties decreases your risk. 

Steven, please don't interpret this as legal advice (it's not), but one alternative way of looking at it is, you could first find a property/deal you want to invest in, get it under contract in your name, and then form the LLC before closing, and close in the name of the LLC.This is a common pattern of events, and won't be a surprise to any of the attorneys involved in the deal, and it allows you to bring not just an LLC formation but also a closing to the attorney.I mention this for two related reasons.One, if you don't end up pulling the trigger (getting something under contract you intend to close on), then you won't be out the $1000-1500 attorneys commonly charge for forming an LLC.Two, I know of a few attorneys who don't want to spend time helping someone form an LLC unless the person is actually going to do business (in this case buy a property) with it.I know that might seem like an off-putting idea, something counter-intuitive (they should want to help you form the LLC and then grow with you, right?)

I also intuitively think like you, but I still wonder why in this area buyers were more aggressive or got crazier in pre-2007 era, than anywhere else.

I'm guessing you paid much more in tuition.

I know this seems counter-intuitive but, just think of it this way, even the investor must pay to live somewhere.

; (b) number of renter households [renters use fewer storage sf, even though that's a bit counter-intuitive]2.

The rest of the process should be intuitive.