I have spoken with so many people who say, "I have my LLC, I'm ready to begin" and I know they could've easily begun their RE investing journey without it.Curious to hear your thoughts.

and the demand is amplified when it has a proven rental history, furnishings and a transferable or easily obtainable STR permit.

This could easily cost you $10’s of thousands if you plan to stay in the home 5+ years when you return. 

I generally recommend if you're not going to buy a property in the city/market where you currently live, the next best place to look is where you have family (and presumably a place that you'll visit relatively often and easily).What is your price point and are you looking for turn-key properties or something along the lines of a "fixer upper", assuming you buy in Peoria or a similar priced Midwest market?

This could give you the cash you need for the purchase and also eliminate your personal guarantee for the loans.

.: Hello Jillyan, I was just wondering why you will eliminate the water and ice maker.

Some DIY lenders use a program called NoteSmith, but IMO, if the loans are too complex to easily manage with simple XL/QuickBooks, I'd be using a 3P servicer. 

If I had to guess I would say your money could “develop” 1-2 houses in Staten Island but in the right market you could easily get up to 12 or possibly more good units fully paid for.

Let’s say you own 1/2 of the $700k property as a TIC and can do a 1031 easily.

The property will need to have a slight rehab to get it up to STR standards, but when complete it should easily be a $200k Gross booking revenue property.