We've utilized the VA loan for our current home, and this strategy has worked well so far.

Is there a way to utilize the "gift" feature illustrated in the tax code? 

I would also contact the tax pros in the header and get their opinion and maybe utilize them for that reason. 

You should treat it as a luxury package rather than regular STR. 

Would it be wise to buy the land with cash we have or utilize as down payment to avoid PMI?

And THEN, the same $1 fee is required when doing a transfer to pay me their utility bills, so then I discounted those by $1 too.

for one tenant it says that the landlord is responsible for utilities, and for the other tenant it says that the tenant is responsible for utilities.

I don’t have a problem paying a couple grand to remove some of the just figure it out stage of learning and utilizing expertise of people that already do it. 

No - but I'd say about 90% of my borrowers/investors utilize an LLC for what it's worth. 

Additionally, they've avoided 40-50 hard credit inquiries populating on their credit as a result of the soft credit inquiry that we utilize for DSCR loans.If DSCR loans are a new thing to you, I would recommend checking out some articles here on Bigger Pockets or giving me a call to learn more.