You mentioned W-2 income as part of a way to save on taxes. 

Use umbrella insurance as an additional safeguard, especially if you opt not to form an LLC.Avoid S-Corp taxation for rentals, as rental income is passive and not subject to self-employment tax.

Typically 75% of rental income can be applied towards your DTI for qualification. 

You need to have the income and tax liability to support the depreciation.

I would apply the cash flow to pay down the debt and hope to have significant passive income (or equity to put into something else) in 10 years.

I'm confused why would you say that rental income is taxed in an IRA?

Absolutely, the passive income from owning rentals is great but I also love getting into big projects and seeing the transformation from start to finish@David Jesperson What city/market are you looking to buy and what type of properties are you looking for, SF, 2-4 MF, or 5+ MF?

It seems like you have some very solid goals of multiple income streams, and a well calibrated risk tolerance. 

However, the one CPA I briefly talked to said the investment would be treated as passive.

There was an STR boom when many people bought homes here thinking they could have passive income, but that is not the case here as much as it is in places like Asheville (which is still seasonal, but not as much).