You can choose to report your income and expenses on Schedule C by electing to file as a Qualified Joint Venture instead of filing a partnership return.If you have created an LLC that is not in a community property state, and as husband-wife you are the only members, then you are a partnership and must file a partnership tax return unless you have elected to treat your LLC as a corporation for tax purposes.If you have created an LLC in a community property state, and husband-wife are the only members, then you are a partnership and must file a partnership tax return unless you have elected to treat your LLC as a disregarded entity or corporation for tax purposes.

But I noted that places like North Tonawanda as @Pravit Jarriyapurttipong mentioned are actually outside of Erie County, it's in Niagara County, which follows the stricter landlord laws as New York State... https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/changes-in-nys-rent-la...Would you recommend sticking to Erie County boundaries for this purpose?

Cleveland, Baltimore, Toledo, Indy etc....You will see net population decreases in most of these areas but these are the areas where the prices are the lowest in the USA and come with rents that are very high when compared to the sales price.

any suggestions on how I should compare these 2 options?

@Edward Toomey V It's unfortunate you had that experience with a software purposed for landlords; however, I'd hate for you to give up on software designed to work for landlords and ditch to QB.  

The biggest difference is having the patience to wait until what feels like the last minute to book folks compared to LTRs.

Compare other rentals with a similar size, location and bedroom count to get an estimate of what the rent would be while you're living there.

Use AirDNA to get a better feel for what may be projected and then dive into Airbnb and compare to your competitors. 

**Maintenance**: Be prepared for a bit more wear and tear compared to market-rate rentals.

@William J Anderson with anything, you'll probably want a summary/overview report and then another for a deep dive as needed.You'll want the summary report to be your go-to, preferrably showing month-by-month for comparison purposes.