Currently our heads are spinning with all the options and which investment styles will best fit our goals, skills and lifestyle needs.  

You can gain equity but you want to outpace inflation.Many buy in these areas and others for the appreciation more than the cash flow.If I just keep up with inflation I feel like I am just spinning my wheels.The 50k houses in Atlanta the investors were probably sold a bill of goods.We have properties here that sell for 4k to 6k in the war zone areas.The nice properties in great areas are gone in a day or two.These companies then out in a tiny amount of money and resell for a fat profit to out of town investors.Home buyers to live in your area will pay a premium.Have a broker/agent research the MLS.Has there been any solds within the last year even close to the price you would need??

Type in "how to set up LLC" and you'll find enough information to make your head spin.

Dude, my head started spinning reading that. 

You can spin it as a way to save taxes, or a better investment than they could get in the stock market (or whatever else they were going to do with the money), or a way to keep getting income from the property without any management hassles.Seller financing is a great example of the principle that you won't get something if you don't ask, but as with most things a soft sell is usually a better approach.

But when you start spinning off lots you start to look like a developer and those lots look more like inventory - especially if you start doing entitlement or improvement work on the lots.  

Especially if you will require any variances or special approvals, you can get a sense of the town's plans or sights for the future for that particular area to make sure you're not investing a lot of money in architects and engineers and lawyers if you are spinning your wheels.

The law allows transfers to be made under certain conditions, family and estate planning, if you can spin your LLC under an estate planning management arm, you might meet the requirements and avoid the due on sale. 

You'll spin your wheels for days that will turn into weeks then months and eventually you get nowhere and do no deals.

But theres some many things that are involved in going that route, if your new to tax lein investing it will make your head spin.