But other people tell me that if the mortgage of the properties is still under my name, it will defeat the purpose of having an LLC and that I should be better off with a very good umbrella policyI am a totally newbie on the matter and do not know who is right and who is wrong. 

@Ralph R. all of that falls under the umbrella of "expenses", I'm trying to make it as simple as possible for someone asking what cash flow is.

We self-manage our rentals, maintain home warranty insurance (about $50-$60 per month) to cover major systems and common repairs, purchase and operate in our own names (with umbrella insurance) and tend to look for rentals in high-demand areas (college towns, employment centers, etc). 

I Talked to very many people, investors, lawyers and other fellow landlords.Some say a LLC is a must and other says its a complete waste of money and a umbrella policy for 1 or 2 million is the way to go including a few attorneys.If your a real estate investor most of your networth is in all your properties right?

Our buyer's agent when we bought the house was under the same big umbrella realtor firm.

I'm asking because I own 3 properties in FL, under my LLC (which i never even got umbrella coverage for- just insurance for properties), and now I'm looking to pick up properties in other states- so I'm getting told to create LLCs in other states too.So please tell me- How many of you actually got sued?

Can an umbrella policy protect against person liability the same way as for long-term rentals?

Their umbrellas are cheap but the auto is hit and miss depending on many factors.

Once you get a few more properties it wouldn't be a bad idea to get an umbrella policy for $1,000,000 or so to protect yourself.

You may want to look at umbrella insurance.