Don't have much knowledge but hope someone can point me steps or good legal person I can talk to :) Hi Ken-Seek out land trusts to see if that will suffice your business as well instead of a direct LLC.

Will being a landlord for a couple houses suffice? 

Suffice it to say most areas not only don't cash flow they are so negative that the only potential upside is speculative (not my bag). 

The move-in date is 8/6, however they live out of town and won't be back for college until September (I told them I couldn't push the lease out a month).Given that they don't live in town, will it suffice to have them sign it online (currently using an online forms management software that makes online signatures quite easy)? 

As you may have noticed from this response, the DFW area is simply huge, and there isn't one answer that will suffice for all of it or even one city in most cases. 

@Victor Steffen quick question - above u mentioned $1000 CF per door but in the example, it feels like 1000$ CF over the three units... does the example # of $1000 over 3 units suffice for enough of a return?

If so, I think all you would need to provide is evidence that you have been paying the mtg payment.....your mtg statements would suffice, if even necessary.

Are you suggesting it should be drive-able from where you are, or would a quick and inexpensive flight suffice?

I guess a good CPA will be able to help me crunch numbers before sale to determine whether I can do a 1031 and if I even should based on investment plans.Would you all recommend I find a good CPA in California near the property (Silicon Valley area) or would a local Texas CPA near where I live now suffice?

Obviously, I've gotten to know Denton and the 2 universities here very, very well in a quarter of a century, and suffice it to say that, while I think a person can do well in this market, even with all my familiarity with it, I have steered clear.