I'm a newbie to real estate investing and am currently focused on intensely educating myself about all things real estate and how to get my first rental property deal.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

I’m mainly looking to educate myself for the long term.

Their price structure is probably different but I would use any free consultation available with all law firms that are specialized in asset protection before deciding what structure to use.Also this firm and one it’s lawyer (Clint Coons) have great YouTube channels that will give you a plenty of free information to educate yourself about some of the structure that you may consider.

I’m also an active member of the local landlord association in Joliet (JRLA), which has been a great resource for networking and education.

No education benefits given unless legal status shown.4. 

With enough knowledge you can make a educated decision on which approach you take.My experience:I personally don't sign up for any program who take you aside during events and try to sell packages that is just blatant sales strategy.Once you sign up there is every attempt to make you sign for their programs for bookkeeping, registered agent, LLC or corp setup fee which have ridiculous even with platinum membership.Basic standard structure they suggest to take advantage of multiple deductions can be easily achieved by proper education or work with a good firm like https://wcginc.com  who is local to you.A umbrella C-crop to manage all other LLC properties and take advantage of many tax deductions that are not available with a llc, its also used to take losses up to 100K as startup expenses and dissolve the entity after few years.Few LLC entities for investing in Real Estate, etc preferably in Wyoming or Nevada ( you can find many companies online who can do this for $150 compared to anderson $1500-$3000) , they will claim they have a secret Operating agreement which is bogus.They certainly try to take advantage of tax loopholes and claim to be smart people, my view they are just taking advantage of numbers as per their own statements.

I am using this time to educate myself while saving up for my first property.

I would thank him for his feedback and share that you made a business decision that is mutually beneficial (https://www.avail.co/education/articles/should-you-collect-r...scroll down towards the bottom of the page to see the comparison) which includes providing the tenant with a receipt and rent reminders.  

💹*Reminder- The Pearl Development is predicted to create over 11,000 jobs in Mecklenburg County within the next 10 years & will be both a medical education institution and an international headquarters.