I think tax benefits should be secondary to buying something that would work well as a STR.I would recommend you consult a tax professional to see what possible tax benefits you could receive from buying this STR.

I read Brian’s book and still learned more than a few things.  

I like to always recommend that you choose an agent who is also an investor maybe a few years ahead of where you want to be.

I stumbled upon this thread and I'll admin I've only just read your initial post.

Or you may notice that all the $2,500 houses are listed week after week - meaning they aren't rented - while all the $2,100 houses disappear within days.I recommend investors review their market at least once a month, even when your rentals are occupied, to ensure you stay current on what the market is doing.

I recommend renting it as a 4/4 and being clear about the set up. 

I highly recommend investing in a property management software, such as Hospitable, for syncing your calendar, automating messaging, and scheduling cleans, as well as a dynamic pricing tool, such as PriceLabs, for optimizing your pricing based on market demand, local events, and seasonality. 

The plan is to purchase a residential multifamily in the New Orleans or Baton Rouge area using a FHA loan.I'm currently in the research phase, listening to hours of Bigger Pockets podcasts and reading Real Estate Investing by Brandon Turner.

After only reading your subject line, I was curious why you were targeting Canadians.

Our home LLC in ND but it only costs about $100 and a foreign LLC is all our CPA recommended we do.