Here are my main thoughts:I believe 2/1s represent unnecessary vacancy risk for landlords.

A reserve is unnecessary, but I still keep around $15,000 - $20,000 in my account.The point is, you should sit down and assess your personal finances to determine what the worst-case scenario may look like, how much you would need to cover it without impacting your life, and whether you will need to build a reserve.

Now if your attorney were also a big-time RE investor, then I might put more credence in their recommendations.....I have had LLCs and Corps in Cali for liability purposes, but I generally found them unnecessary and got real tired with paying $800 a year each....Do a lot of research and make your own call...

Not only do they put themselves at risk, but unnecessary scrutiny for others in the industry.   

@Joyce Kim if this will be a residential small rental (not commercial) and you don't have unrelated partners,  all an LLC will do (especially SMLLC) is limit your financing options, weaken your title chain and hazard/title insurance when you quitclaim, complicate your tax reporting and give you a new and unnecessary annual $800 bill from CA.  

This sounds like unnecessary picky municipal rules designed to make the evil landlords pay.

Thanks so much @Orita Issartel for handling the unnecessary comment above - I have no time or interest in going there.   

I thought it unnecessary to say Norfolk Va since this was posted in the Virginia forum.Cheers,

It could be at a top but the eminent "collapse" that the word bubble evokes is unnecessary.

I would have missed that I don't want to belabor the issues but as I said, if you know the person well and in this case it appears to be your father, the expense of $1,000 to $1,500 to have an attorney draw up a mortgage for $50,000 might be unnecessary.