Since I have a full time business to provide for our family, this seems to be an avenue toward "diversification" while at the same time building long term wealth.A question that I do have is - in beginning as a real estate investor, is it recommended to form an LLC from the start OR to just invest as an individual?

This strategy can also offer diversification benefits, as flipping can provide a short-term source of income while the portfolio can provide long-term stability.

In addition to the potential tax savings you also have the ability to provide diversification into your portfolio to mitigate risk such as vacancy, 2 months of vacancy on 1 property paid in cash will have a far greater negative impact then 2 months of vacancy on 1 of your 4 properties. 

I.e. investors that self-direct seem to prefer direct investments into a single property versus diversification into a strategy (it's also harder to underwrite a manager / strategy than it is a single investment) - that's my personal experience. 

MF is even better in that diversification regards..

Although diversification is the way to mitigate this, I think multifamily is a far better asset class that provides better diversification, scale, etc.  

Not great but  like I said with the tenant paying down the principal and appreciation it at least allows for diversification from the stock market.

@Tucker Cummings Think of your 401k as part of your diversification strategy. 

Like all things investing (and perhaps in life) diversification is prudent and safeguards from pitfalls, so in my personal investing when the portfolio gets a little too heavy in old properties with high CapEx liabilities I look to sprinkle in some new properties with low CapEx liabilities.   

Originally posted by @Duane Richards:@Cameron Lam our goal is actually cash flow for passive streams and diversification (all our previous investments were in the stock market).