It's not ideal, but it does keep tenants from feeling like they can burn through as much as they like because it's free.I would consider doing an overlay of the walls with that  thin drywall (quarter inch, I think?

I have been saving and may have a quarter of what I need but I need to be able to qualify for a mortgage my first go round.

If you go big enough, going to a C corp may become better.An S corp has quarterly tax filing requirements, files its own tax returnThe owner needs to take a salary (and pay social security & medicare tax), etc. 

Some lots will allow only one single family unit others one SFH with a mother in law quarters, some will allow more than one house to be built on one lot and yet others will allow multifamily units that is covered the zoning laws , regulations or ordinances.

I am located in Tampa, FL and my goal is to purchase my 1st investment property by the end of the 1st quarter of 2016.  

Some 7.5 million households will have lost their homes and nearly all of them have since become renters – many of single-family homes similar to the ones they owned previously: http://www.housingwire.com/articles/34369-moodys-analytics-single-family-rental-growth-will-accelerateApartment Market Strength Continues in Second Quarter With 5% Annual Effective Rent Growth and 95.2% OccupancyAnnual effective rent growth for United States apartments reached 5.0% for the first time in four years, according to early second quarter 2015 numbers from Axiometrics, the leader in apartment market and student housing research and analysis: http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2600931The 20 Hottest U.S.

I don’t have a huge family but it would be nice to know I could set aside a trust for each of them that grew and they would receive a certain amount monthly, quarterly, or annually and that I could make charitable contributions as well.

Here are my expense numbers with various purchase prices:Expenses: (Mortgage numbers assume 20% down)700k Purchase: $2609.36 (30yr 3.8%) 650k Purchase: $2422.00 (30yr 3.8%) 600k Purchase: $2236.60 (30yr 3.8%)500k Purchase: $1863.83 (30yr 3.8%) Vacancy: (12%) $628.20Property management: (12%) $628.20 /monthTax: $584 /monthCap Ex: (10%): $523.50Water: $800 quarterly $267 /monthMaintenance: (5%): $261.75 /monthLawn Care/Snow removal: $200 /monthHome Insurance: $125 /month*Electricity and Gas are paid for by tenants with separate meters.

Most of the local investor meetups are back to being in person but I believe @Jonna Weber has a quarterly meetup that is still on zoom. 

It's worth noting that the market recovered in 8 quarters during the last recession, and good syndicators will be agile enough to deploy a strategy to ride these troughs out - have a look at this-U.S.