If you are reliant solely on alt. lenders because it is the only debt you are qualified to originate, it can become a vicious cycle.

They get a yearly depreciation deduction on their taxes for the house and may have nearly depreciated it to $0.

I'm not into Sub2.In MN when using the SOS "fast-file" online system to form a LLC it states, CLEARLY but often missed by people, Single member LLC's are a disregarded entity and legally held as sole proprietor for all legal purposes.

If youre trying to get a portfolio (blanket) loan on these, that will likely be even harder.What youre currently being offered are true commercial loans - they rarely have tenors longer than 5-7 years.

I want to stay in my house without bringing on any tenants.Thank you! 

I'll keep thinking on these questions! 

I was planning on buying a home in Big Bear, CA as a vacation rental.

But of course were running into the same issues as everyone else, finding a property that actually cash flows, specifically when rented out the traditional way with just one person on the lease.

While it seems like there are some better priced deals lately, you may have to be prepared to put down 30-40% down.I'd say due to the lack of homes for sale, you should be open to many if not most cities depending on the deal that comes up. 

Still, I think you'd find it difficult to find one that would be a good long-term investment unless you had another ~20-30 years to go, it's at least cash neutral, and you don't plan to hold it too long (to avoid too much investment loss and before you get to the point where it's unsellable because of too few years left); that's another way of saying that maybe it suits your cash needs in the near-term or is at least less of a pill to swallow than other options until you find something that's more of a sensible long-term playRecently I came across a leasehold with 23 years left on the lease being sold for 300K.