It looks like they have some experienced people under the "Novak" umbrella, but they all seem to be with different entities. 

But I’m thinking in order to use passive losses from other entities (multi family, SFR’s, etc) I would also have to show material participation in those activities in addition to the REPS, is that accurate?  

Estates may need to be opened or re-opened, successor entities may need to be included, perhaps all current owners of adjacent properties might need to be brought in.

Not as many complexities with a few rentals, but there can still be significant issues depending on entity structure - even if they are all "disregarded" entities for federal tax purposes.If your W-2 is your full time gig, and they are all passive long term rentals, there very well could be likely not a lot of active planning to do on the real estate side, outside of getting some general knowledge out there, having some longer term plans, and ensure deductions are being maximized in the isolation of those 5 rentals.

https://www.amazon.com/Limited-Liability-Company-Estate-Inve...https://www.amazon.com/Your-Business-Entity-Estate-Investing...I know that BP has talked about using LLC/business entities on the podcast many times, try episode 283 with David Greene "15 Real Estate Investing Lessons Learned the Hard Way"

An LLC is a pass through entity.

My wife is a property manager, so she is the one that gets those fees as a separate entity.

Found a lender that worked around some pretty big implications, helped manage their entity, switched lenders for them when an implication came up, took flack from realtors, got extensions, and then when we got them to closing they asked why we had a fee… Its interesting that we talk about the Core 4 and building a team, but the folks that I see who do the best understand that to sustain the C4 that it needs to be worth everyone’s time. 

It has been recently introduced and is supposed to put a cap on the cost to install utility hook ups for new construction and ban hedge funds and corporate entities from buying single family homes in California):SB 1210"This bill would, for new housing construction, prohibit a connection, capacity, or other point of connection charge from a public utility, as defined, or a special district, as defined, for electrical, gas, sewer, or water service from exceeding 1% of the reported building permit value of that housing unit.

Regardless of which entity owns the shares (You or the LLC) you will have to pay capital gains when you sell the shares (If there were gains on the shares).