Instead, go get an umbrella policy on your homeowners insurance for protection, and you can deduct the exact same expenses on your personal tax return as you can with a LLC.

(Doesn't mean you don't get an umbrella policy.)Not what you asked, but I think self-management is the way to go.

Umbrella insurance (beyond the liability insurance for each rental dwelling) is far less.

You can also get an umbrella policy as well if you want to be extra cautious.

@Ravi Sivarathri I agree with the comment on umbrella insurance, it's a great first step to help protect you in the event someone sues you.

I agree with the items @David Liu mentioned but add insurance, vacancy, property management (even if self managing because it is work), misc (mostly items divided across all units (bookkeeper, LLC, umbrella coverage, tax man, office expenses, etc) as well as one off items such as utilities due to slab leak.  

If you want protection, insurance (umbrella policy), properly structured LLC (just placing in an LLC typically does not suffice), etc. is the more appropriate protection.  

Personally, all of mine are in 1 LLC, each of them have 1 million liability through home insurance and I have an umbrella policy of a few million.

Depending on the costs of the properties, I usually stick to 1 LLC, 1 million liability policy on each propety through property insurance and an umbrella policy of a few million (depending on the number of properties and totall estimated value).

Make sure everyone is at least 20% members but that will create the umbrella necessary to get everyone “credit” on paper and allow them to start their investment journey.