If you find someone that will let you supply the materials and work for labor only and sign a contract you supplied , you have hired an employee , a laborer , not a contractor .

Since this is a post about our loan shop, I'll highlight that we are a small loan shop (30 employees), family-owned just trying to get more clients by placing their loans well and treating customers well.

A good example of this is when an agent is selling you on their brokerage brand and saying things like:1) Our brokerage has "X" agents and "X" employees all working for you!

I have a couple of investments and am about to jump into a Short term rental while still being a w-2 employee.

If yu claim one it doesn't void the option to claim the other one.Provided you meet the IRS requirements for both, as a tax strategy, you could complete exclude a portion of capital gains under Section 121 and then defer the remaining capital gains under Section 1031 (@Dave Foster is a great resource for 1031 exchange). ..

These folks do not need to be licensed but there are limits on what they can and can't do, and they have to be salaried employees of the owner or report to a licensed property manager.

It solves the problem of expensive housing, makes the employees available if the business needs them at any time (with overtime benefits) and eliminates the commute. 

Facepalm: the act of literally hitting yourself in the face with your palm out of frustration1 property is doing ok.1 property had a suncoast employee rent it and stopped paying after 1 month.

Regarding solo 401k, maybe this is slightly off topic, I use equity trust and they say you cannot have any employees other than a spouse.

To pay my contractors and employees I collect their bank information and can send an ACH directly to their bank account.