Multifamily rentals are a great way to achieve financial freedom, and it sounds like you’re on the right path.My advice?

There are a lot of quirks and oddities in Louisiana law where the current tenant can assert that they have an implied agreement that they can pay late, stay X months without a lease, do whatever action, etc, based on what the current landlord/owner has allowed and told them in the past.

If that is the path moving forward we will be left without a home as of 9/21/24 which will create incredible financial, mental, and physical stress on our part.

Next up is a huge financial hit: closing costs.

Bottom line, you have to decide how badly you want to own the place, and how much financial cushion you have, and how much risk you are willing to take. 

Also, if you are in a partnership with your brother, it is unlikely that you are going to be able to offset his W2 income if he is just the financial partner.

The best combination in my opinion to have your real estate agent income in an S corp to reduce personal income tax (as long as it financially makes sense) and then buy real estate and cos segregate it and take bonus depreciation to offset against your income. 

We have 8 business entities availing of their services, and as "advisors", they should make business life easier -- not add more work on your plate --- but instead, my team and I have been checking for mistakes, or following up on action items, missed deadlines, and paying penalties to the IRS and Secretaries of State due to their negligence.

You want to have your financial house in order so you know what you CAN afford and what you SHOULD spend.

Taking action and learning from those actions are key to moving ahead.