It was great having someone to direct me as our properties are held in a trust and the wording could have been easily messed up.  

 :)  Liability-wise, our leases state whether the deposit is being held by the landlord or agent, so as long as the right box is checked, there shouldn't be an issue.  

You could do a closely held one if you prefer. 

Those of us who choose (or are required by our brokerages) to affiliate with the national, state, and local associations of REALTORS© are bound by a code of ethics and standards of practice, and agree to be held accountable by our peers when we fail to abide by these.Obviously, that does not mean agents who are not REALTORS© are dishonest or unethical (there are plenty of reasons, cost being one of them, not to pay for the REALTOR© designation) - but when having a discussion about ethics and standards of practice, I think it is important to point out that these do exist and are adhered to by thousands of professionals across the country.Thanks for bringing that up!

Held a rental since 1994, sold it this week after many years of success as a part of my portfolio.

Make sure you get approval for anything from the brokerage first.The state real estate commissions see licensees as professionally trained in contracts and held to a higher standard than ( joe blow ) investor off the street.

Imo - not a lawyer so take it for what it is and get legal advice if unsure.The llc will help reduce risk however if you are negligent you can still be held liable.Talk to other people, get llc for dummies.Here in ny pretty easy to setup.  

Parts of 38128 are great rental areas, as a matter of fact most of my portfolio is held in those better parts of the zip.

My business partner had boss in the military that moved 30 times in his career, nationally & internationally; purchased in each location, and held on to the property.  

You should get in touch with @Kevin Carbon as he runs the Tacoma-area meet-up which I believe is being held next week, he can give you and invite to the meet-up group and directions.Just curious, what are you looking for at the moment?