The COPY-PASTE functions of user interfaces make spreadsheet creation straight forward.

There are a lot of great options out there; aside from providing the basics (ie. listing tool to get the property published to 10+ major sites, scheduling tool to schedule viewings, tenant screening with comprehensive applications which include nationwide criminal background checks + credit checks + eviction history, digital lease creation tool, rent collection tool, and maintenance tracking tool), some services also offer your tenants additional capabilities which makes it an easier sell on your end when getting them to transition over (ie. their ability to report on-time rent payments to the credit bureaus; this can create an added incentive for making sure they pay that rent on time).

Entity creation is just one component.Commercial, residential, land development, etc.?

Perhaps the simple solution to this problem is the creation of "groups" just like on Facebook.

My psychic powers tell me you're bird-dogging in order to build enough wealth to start your own portfolio of cash-flow-positive buy-and-holds and/or down payments for high-value quick-flip deals, amirite?

Similar to the HVAC license, a Plumbing or Electrical contractors licensing course will be teaching the Industrial and Commercial applications, plus the theory, including the entire electrical grid and the origination in history for power creation for electrical, and similar history and infrastructure for plumbing.Requirements:  8000 hours of on the job training, or 6000 hours with a 2 year degree, and if I recall correctly, a Bachelors degree in the chosen field allows you to write for the license without the 4-years of on the job training... that was 25 years ago in Michigan for HAVC, not sure what the requirements are today.Now then, this is because I enjoy do-it-myself home rehabbing and investing.I can usually get the job done faster than I can get 3 estimates and wait to be scheduled by a contractor to show up and do the work.Do-it-myself investing has allowed me to reduce risk of cost over-runs, weather the real estate crashes, reduce debt, but mostly because I enjoy the work.  

Every point along that route has a different lift in terms of value creation. 

REI is about long term wealth creation and you can't do that with cash flow. 

@Russell Brazil and @Llewelyn A - would especially appreciate your thoughts, as your philosophy of wealth creation via mortgage paydown gave me some social proof / confidence in this approach. 1) A key assumption of the mortgage-paydown philosophy is that real estate and rent will hold its value over time (if not grow).

Etc.Once you have gone through those initial questions, I would visit a real estate attorney who specializes in entity creation or joint venture agreements with real estate.