I love being a private lender but the fact that it simply increases my taxable income makes me consider shifting some of my note portfolio to multi-family perhaps...You might find this discussion beneficial where similar question is raised: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/604...Owning notes in your retirement account (especially self-directed Roth IRA or Roth Solo 401k) is ideal since you can have tax-free income for the rest of your life if you utilize one of these vehicles. 

I currently live in the State of VA and property tax is huge on vehicles.

Make sure the vehicle you choose is able to qualify for lending.

Establishing an investment vehicle can hedge against this and set out an enforceable legal structure to govern the investment and its management.ZachThis post is intended to convey general information only and not to provide legal advice or opinions.

I used part of it to pay off both my vehicles and was thinking of using the rest as a down payment for my next property.

Merely putting a vehicle in the name of an LLC doesn't constitute a business expense.

But I wanted some insight on the different vehicles and how to choose!

So when he left in a huff all I could do was make it very obvious that I was taking photos of him and his vehicle.  

Bought the vehicle used, so I didn't waste money on a brand new car.  

The numbers don't look good and your earnings could go much further deployed into another vehicle, like a multi family or several single families.