Yeahhh, go ahead and give poverty a whirl for a time, getting your meal at a food shelf, dodging bullets on way to/from school, trust me when your really poor and broke, it is absolutely everything! 

Up to you.the last bullet point was a bit concerning.

They’re not bullet proof like some people think.

Philly will only continue to prosper as echoing rumors of a bullet train from NYC to DC (basic overview article of the high speed line) turns into reality.

The hurdle is biting the bullet on the increases and timing.

Unfortunately you've totally missed the issue Counselor, the issue is not one of legal protection, and even if it were LLCs don't offer bullet proof protection to begin with, not by a long shot.But rather the real issue is whether the cost of setting up an LLC structure, the cost of maintaining it and the hassle, inconvenience and awkwardness of operating it justify the extraordinarily remote risk of addressing a material claim not otherwise covered by insurance (regular property liability insurance or umbrella if necessary).The answer is clearly not for your typical mom and pop owner of passive rental property operation.

Do we bite the bullet and put a larger down payment on a house here, meaning missing out on multiple OOS investments over the next few years and maybe try short term rental to generate cash flow?

It seems you learned a lot and dodged a bigger bullet at the same time.

Tenants will likely beat the crap out of the place so you need everything to be bullet proof and cost effective.If you are uncertain reno to suite your taste and sell to recoup your investment when it is time to move.

If they don't agree, call others, they're not the only client, and i'm not the only contractor.To your problem, bite the bullet and look for someone else, one mistake is you paid them too much too fast, be up front with the next contractor, have a scope of work (including unfinished work) and let them know what's your budget, and what's their counter.