Are you going to finish all of the renovations in 2018 or will some carry over into 2019?

I don't have time nor should the management company have time to carry someone else's monkey. 

I appreciate your perspective on paying off the debt; personally, I'm ok w/ carrying low-rate debt and arbitraging a higher rate elsewhere, but to each their own.Did you use your HELOC at all to use as fast-cash for a rental purchase?

They can help you put a plan together for acquiring the first one and the next steps to take to put you in the right position to buy more (although focus on the first before you get carried away). 

So that' doesn't get you where you want to go.An owner carry could give you the better return. 

You could carry the negative cash flow and hope for appreciation and equity.

., Form 8824 of your 2014 tax return carries forward your basis and resets whatever depreciation needs to be reset. 

Things to consider:1) Depending on the state you live in, an LLC may not provide as much protection.2) If you don't keep your finances perfectly separated (and even then it's not a guarantee), an LLC may not provide you protection.3) You'll end up paying more in your mortgage and your LLC costs.For those reasons, especially for your first one, it's generally fine to just get a lot of coverage in umbrella insurance (or a lot of personal liability coverage in the property insurance that you'll carry).However, I'd be very interested to know if any BP member can say that an LLC did prevent them from losing money or getting personally sued at some point -- I haven't seen that posted.

I guess you would just have to wait and eat a month of carry cost before beginning rehab.

And be sure to check with folks other than your family banker (where you carry all your accounts) - you'd be surprised how much price / term shopping can save you on each deal.Best of luck to you and your family and I look forward to following your journey!