If one of the contractors lapses their coverage and an employee is injured, they may be able to go against your coverage as GC.  

Most W2 employees will have a tough job justifying that more time is spent in RE activities but since my W2 is far from "full time" does that make any difference if I track my hours? 

I wouldnt increase my tax bill to show higher income , self employeed , they want 2 or 3 years 

Ultimately, this experience fostered mutual respect among all parties involved.Regarding your situation, you mentioned that your lease specifies the tenant's responsibility for clogs caused by foreign objects, albeit without delineating fault.

Then, since they are now a 'legit' operation, they also will typically have their employees legal...meaning they have Workers Comp and a labor burden.

I'm sad for the employees as well.If you plan to invest in syndications, fintech lending, and alternative ways to invest in real estate be VERY careful now.

A firm with employees will likely charge more than a single preparer office (due to overhead, etc).

I want to take the next big step into turning my real estate journey from doing everything myself with my own money to learning how to run a business working with both in-house employees and seasoned contractors.

Between the laws, customers, their relatives, lots of employees, dietary, security, etc it’s not a business I would want to get into.  

Here is the "lesson learned" : on the county listing, under "PARCEL#/NAME" is "Foster & Foster Tax Sale" (the primary law firm handles the sales) - scroll down the list,  if there is an addition firm listed (last time was AMS), there will be 2nd sale group.