@Marque A Clark no you can run a business as a "Sole Proprietor"  Basically that means your business is not legally separate from you.

I have a question:1. What should I have in place before buying <$50K rentals to limit liability and pay the least amount of taxes?Thanks in advane!

Not a big deal when buying from a large corporation, but be cognizant of it when you buy from the proprietor. 

If there are signs it's operating as a personal account (ie. cash withdrawals and , or appears to be (eg. expenses paid personally) your LLC, if challenged in a suit, could be broken and charges put against you as sole proprietors.

I went ahead and set it up as a multi-member because i have my cousin as a partner on this first one.Then, after some sole searching, decided that maybe it would have been better to set it up as Sole-Proprietor.

‘lifestyle’ business – ie simply intended to be run by and to provide an ongoing source of work and income for the proprietors, no clear vision for the long term future?

I am thinking to elect federal taxation as a sole proprietor (which is possible as a married couple in California).

If he hesitates at all to agree, I'd file for eviction myself that same day if he's in a property I own as sole proprietor or through an attorney if I manage as part-owner of a LLC that owns the property (since I'm not an attorney and can't represent an LLC.) 

I worked at a bank where about half of the 5+ unit borrowers were sole proprietors/revocable trusts.

Since you'll probably be a sole proprietor to start, you'd report this income on your personal taxes.