I'm with you that sidewalk slip and fall litigation may be less likely in the Midwest than say Mid Atlantic which tends to have more litigious cities but dismissing premises liability issues can come back to bite an investor and when these properties have such razor thin margins that an investor must consider the cost benefit analysis of safety against ROI, there is a real estate issue and is usually a losing proposition.   

You might "lose" money on cashflow but you keep an asset that will hopefully appreciate in value and you get several benefits other than just appreciation. 

Is there a benefit to foreign national loans for a US citizen with a US credit score (the 791 I mentioned in the original post is my American score)?

Having family with trades is a huge benefit, even if they don't do the work, utilize them as a resource. 1.

Find someone where there is a personal connection and at some point your relationship now or later can benefit the mentor.

This also includes any potential benefits for tax losses, no matter where they are sourced to.Given the property is in MO, it would also be subject to income tax reporting in that state, unless there are any exceptions to having a filing requirement there (I don't know MO rules off the top of my head).  

They tend to be the ones posting religiously on linkedin the benefits of garbage investment strategies in order to continually feed their business and have poorly drafted operating agreements often with side letters that are really  only necessary to hide from their lenders where their capital is coming from. 

If it's not required, then I would advise against it from a cost/benefit standpoint.

While an LLC can offer liability protection and tax benefits, it’s not essential for a single property—personal liability insurance and an umbrella policy may suffice for now.

Most of us get paid a percentage of the rent so a reduction is not benefitting them financially.