As @Brett Synicky suggested, keep it simple, as a sole proprietorship.You are also not considering that you will have to pay $800 per year and per LLC to your greedy state.In short, get some professional advice instead of TikTok advice.

This is simple to understand.  

Since I work pretty hard at my day job and don’t have much renovation experience, I wanted something simple—a rental I could put a tenant in and at least break even.

You'd be surprised at how the simple things, like answering an email within 24-48 hours versus two weeks (or never!)

What we're talking about goes way beyond simple FRL.

There are some creative ways to get it from 37% to corporate tax rate of 21% but generally it's best to invest passively as the IRA is designed.  

It could be some sort of skill set for renovations, design for furnished rentals, specific market knowledge, owner occupied loan products for a house hack, etc. 

For your first deal, it might be beneficial to try doing some of the simple work yourself so you know what goes into it.

Paulette, it is good to call out these bad contractors and unfortunately you are caught in a bad situation on what to do, start by a small threat that you will contact the BBB and report a claim if he does not show some progress, or if you know an attorney, maybe a simple letter from one may get him worried and he may start showing up.

If you’re considering leveraging hard money lending (HML) for this flip, it could be a strong alternative to traditional financing—especially since HML is quicker to secure and designed for investors aiming to flip properties fast.With HML, you’re typically looking at covering a significant portion of both purchase price and rehab costs, which keeps more of your cash free for other expenses or emergencies.