This is too important and also sort of a personal question depending on your state and specific circumstance and I suspect not a one size fits all answer would suffice. 

It was definitely not personal.

Basically every personal house we ever owned except this last one which we built from scratch.

My question is, how can I structure this to protect myself from a situation where someone sues the LLC and takes the property, leaving me personally liable for the loan?

There are some lenders who specialize in lending for double closes and will basically send you the money for a couple days but I personally haven't done this and don't know what the charge.

The only way to answer that in general (whether house hacking in today's market is still a good option) or for a particular property, is to learn how to run the numbers and analyze a specific property to see whether it will be able to stand on its own as an investment when you move out someday.There are a lot of resources here on BP for doing that but I'd just say, make sure the assumptions you're putting into your spreadsheet or deal analyzer are realistic.Make sure the rents (especially for vacant units or pro-forma #s) are realistic by doing your own rent comps; make sure the mortgage rate is realistic by doing some research online and/or talking to some mortgage folks; make sure insurance #s are realistic by getting a couple of quotes for the # of units and zip code / area you're looking in; etc.I hope that helps, and good luck 😊

I personally think sevier county is one of the best areas in the country to invest in both now (if you pick the right product) and especially long term.

I'm looking for tenants that are professional, stable and can act like a thoughtful, organized person regardless of their economic status.  

I've heard good things about all four cities, so I would personally see what cities I can build the best teams in and go from there.

This specific guest was a physician and sounded as though he had a fair amount of personal income that could be used to support his property.