I typically do B/C class rentals and flips so I may be in a different genre than you.  

@Deepak C. recommend you hire a PMC to do Placement Only service.

The horror stories are people buying too cheap and buying bad houses.Lots of great opportunities in Metro Detroit.LogicalPM can manage.We just heavily recommend not buying the cheapest property or getting tricked by a wholesaler on a $15k “great opportunity”.Just buy the good stuff.Metro Detroit (my rental portfolio is here)Purchase: $80k-$130kRent: $1200-$1500ROI: 10-14%Cash flow: $250-$350/doorAppreciation: Double digit (for past 10 years, will gladly send data)Location: C+, B- (suburbs and certain markets)We have over a dozen Fortune 500 companies just in Metro Detroit with huge Healthcare, Auto, mortgage, Amazon fulfillment, and more jobs.The bad reputation comes from OOS investors wanting $20k D market properties.

As long as you have a primary housing expense (either renting or own) you will be able to use 75% of the appraisers opinion of the future rent. and you will be able to add back a decent portion of your paper losses on your tax returns for the properties you already own using this form:  https://content.enactmi.com/documents/calculators/Form1038.C... 

You would use step 1 and step 2A from this form to come up with your income:  https://content.enactmi.com/documents/calculators/Form1038.C...3) It was mentioned above to use DSCR for the next property but DSCR loans are ONLY for non-owner occupied so that is not an option for a primary.  

@Ricardo Serrano this copy & paste info may help...Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.So, when investing in areas they don’t really know, investors should research the different property Class submarkets.

Quote from @Garry C.: I've not had a very good experience with CRM over the last year.

Quote from @Allan C.: Quote from @Andrew Syrios: Quote from @Jay Hinrichs: Quote from @Andrew Syrios: California is going to be a ghost state pretty soon.  

Simple answer, yes these are all normal things to utilize.However, as to how they are used - that will depend entirely on where you are going and what you are trying to accomplish.For tax purposes, given it is generally a bad idea to use an S-Corp or C-Corp for holding real estate, any other tax structure will have absolutely no difference from one another - IE an LLC taxed as a partnership, an LLC wholly owned by you and disregarded for tax purposes, owning directly, or owning through a revocable trust - all of these have the exact same tax result at the end of the day.

This is the simplest method, but it also means your tenants are more likely to abuse the utilities by leaving windows open with the heat or A/C running, leaving lights on, ignoring the toilet that constantly flushes on its own, etc.3.