The duplex is rented well under market rate ($600 on each side. 2-bed apartments), and the fourplex has two rented units on the lower half well under market rate ($475 on one side, $600 on the other also 2-bed apartments). 

Ask me how I know.It isn't Detroit that is doing well, it's the suburbs.

We've got a lot of med students at UAMS and students at Bowen Law as well as 3 major Amazon hubs.

I hear from other roommates that they have requested pest control as well.

Campus housing has been under tremendous headwinds for the last 4 years.These properties were sold with extremely aggressively optimistic projections, as well as a price that represented a significant premium to fair market value.So sorry to hear about your investment.

As for the legalities of setting up an LLC to protect you and your partners, I would consult with an attorney for best judgement. 

As a landlord, Zillow provides you with a background check, credit score, and a well-formatted application for each applicant.

I have a quadplex it has a basement we roughed in to add a unit one day....well, we're thinking it's "one day". 

The lender required me to quit claim out of my LLC which I use for asset protection.

That being said, I still want to pull my hair out sometimes because of the difficulties investing and working here.