I never use less than 8.34% (one month rent) for Vacancy when analyzing properties and in my budget forecast.  

I'm 43 years old and have set myself up with a conservatively forecasted retirement income of 58K per year at 62 years old.  

I ultimately am looking for passive income through rentals weather single family or multiplexes, however with being a carpenter I’m not opposed to eventually getting to the point to flip a house.

Rehabbing all the bathrooms and kitchens with trendy weathered wood and farmhouse style finishes?

Think of it this way, someone has been transferred, someone hates the traffic or the weather or probate or divorce or lost a job, someone wants to sell, their house is worth $500,000 but they don't have enough equity or cash to cover the real estate agent's fee of 6% or about $30,000.

When UCLA forecasts this stuff it is pretty detailed and even considers airport traffic, port traffic, warehouse and office availabilty, developers and more if you are interested in that stuff they do that quarterly. 

Hoping to gain some advice about weather we should hire an attorney or go through the LLC process ourselves.  

We only have another week or two of hot weather then cooler fall weather will be milder .

Each of these cities have their challenges (mostly with crime) and the homes do take a pounding every year from the extreme weather conditions.

Weather is surprisingly mild for this far north.