People respond better to positive treatment.

Some overhead payments(real estate taxes, mortgage interest, depreciation, repairs) are considered personal expenses and potentially itemized while others are business rental expenses.You should consult with your accountant on treatment.

Aside from that, the tax treatment is largely the same. 

Property that qualifies for 1031 treatment is property you purchased with the intent of holding for productive investment use (not fix n flip). 

He inspected the unit and performed a liquid treatment 3 times - he would treat it, then come back a few weeks later to treat again, and then again.

I know taxes outside of retirement accounts for REITs can be a bit complicated, but I think the tax treatment is the big difference as far as I can tell. 

If it is a single member, then by default it will be disregarded by the IRS unless you elect to have it taxed as an S or C corp.If it is a multi members LLC it will be by default seen as a partnership, unless you elect to have it taxed as an S or C Corp.Depending on the status you choose, your state tax treatment will be different too...

It had enough water rights to be able to have our own water treatment plant as well which will be a nice income generator for many years to come.

Added a new roof, termite treatment/inspection and then on to paying off the original owner after refi.

Tax treatment gets a little complicated when two individuals buy a multi-unit property and one of them occupies a unit.