You are currently getting a 2.5% yield (which I think is low for a dividend portfolio, I target 3.5% on my dividend portfolio).......but you can get a free cash flow yield on real estate often in excess of 10%. $500 a door may sound small to you....but at 4 properties throwing off $500 a door....you have created more passive income from real estate than you have from your stock portfolio. ($24,000 vs $20,000)

When I say time I mean in excess of 6+ months - Again, I only speak from personal experience.

What a judge would deem as excessive is open to an interpretation.

I would look at how much excess cash flow is present and figure out how to apply all of that cash flow to pay down the debt on the properties to eventually refinance the upside down loans away.  

Fees seem excessive.  

Point is, payroll companies don't have insurance that will be the same as yours, they may have WC but don't necessarily need to have CGL, Excess, Umbrella, or Vehicle, so basically their advice is not solid enough.

Yes, but keep in mind that if your mortgage acquisition indebtedness exceeds $1 million and/or you have a HELOC is in excess of $100k, you may be limited in the amount you can deduct. 

This sparked a conversation in the office about how owning a rental property is an excessive burden and there is no money to be made in real estate.

If I engage an attorney, I would try to build his fees into the cost of the loan, probably as points on the backend (after flip).One of my worries is that with the added cost of the attorney and with the return I require to satisfy my risk appetite, the rate I can offer them would be uncompetitive (one of them who has a steady income, good DTI  and prime credit score can get fairly competitive (6-8%) rates on an personal unsecured loan).

Excess contribution about 2-5%.