I said U got the door jam right but you stand in it not lie down..

U gotta talk to people and find out through conversations.

Do I understand what u am investing in?

If you hire management in todays market they make money and well your just got a rental that U had to pay thousands to furnish.. your in the hospitality business .. not passive investing if your self managing..

I’m worried about legal/insurance exposure and also just generally annoyed at all the foot traffic in the u it

You can find templates for joint venture agreements on BiggerPockets or other real estate investment websites.Next, consider joining local real estate meetups or online groups where you can network with other investors.

My next goal would be to rent it for that and not take any cash flow from the property yet just keep it in the reserves then try to refinance at a later date or see if the home appreciates enough And maybe I would be able to increase the rent later on u til I can actually cashflow  

u...

Based on your assumption that you and your spouse file jointly, I agree with the others in the comments.

My understanding is that excess business loss limits in 2022 are $270k for single filers and $540k for married filing jointly.