I understand that I need to account for taxes, insurance, and other costs—Should I go with a LML and then do a refi later on?  

There are also additional costs of operating and maintaining an LLC, like separate bank accounts, annual report filings, tax filings, etc.2.

We have some retirement accounts.

Thus, they take extreme risks and look for corresponding discounts.Additionally, after the first position lender accounts for default interest, penalties, legal fees, foreclosure fees, accounting fees, and everything else, the equity in your combined <65% ARV loan can easily erode to zero.

So if your interest payment is $1000 then the servicer automatically ACH debits your account that plus the servicing fee (assuming you set up automatic payments as @Christian Ehlers suggests).

I'm Nick - a 26 year old tax accountant living in Charleston, SC.

Hi thereAccording to IRS guidelines, once a property is ready and available for rent, meaning after you completed the renovations. you would  be able to deduct expenses. snce this was your main home,  the tax accountant you will use will need to do a conversion from personal residence to a rental for depreciation purposes. the improvement you made, depending on what they are, may be added to your basishope this helps

There are also additional costs of operating and maintaining an LLC, like separate bank accounts, annual report filings, tax filings, etc.2.

Quote from @Courtney Dettlinger: Your equity is not a savings account from which you can withdraw for free.

Here are five dangerous provisions to watch for in an Operating Agreement:Dangerous Provisions to Watch:Authority to incur debt without investor approvalPower to make loans to other entities/projectsAbility to cross-collateralize with other propertiesPermission to use investor capital for other venturesCommingling of funds across different projectsWhy These Are Potential Ponzi Indicators:• New investor funds could be used to pay existing investors• Project-to-project lending can mask poor performance• Cross-collateralization puts your investment at risk for others' failures• Commingling enables masking of financial problems• Lack of project segregation enables fraudulent schemesProtective Measures to Look For:Strict single-purpose entity requirementsProject-specific bank accountsDebt limitations and investor approval requirementsProhibited related-party lendingClear fund segregation requirementsProfessional Best Practice:Request bank statements showing separate accounts for each project.