Do my 3 associates need to create a LLC to be able to do these renovations or can any individual do them, as long as proper permits are pulled? 

No social or credit pull needed upfront. 

Purchasing a new primary and turning my current house into a rental and looking to hire a PM but some of the fee's seem high. 1 quote - 100% 1st/month rent if i self-manager, or 75% 1st/mo rent and 10%/mo for PM to manage.Again, im new to this but from reading and talking to people there is a typical finders fee ~1000$ and 10%/mo rent if the PM manages. 

Here is some key information:Property recently hit the market and has 2 cash offers alreadyThe seller provided a pre-inspection report, which I shared with 2 different lenders, both think it may fail conventional financing due to potential structural and electrical issues (realtor thinks it could pass conventional)Seller has 100% equity but is behind on other payments (not sure of the urgency money is needed)This is my first attempt at an “investment” property so I’m new to thisI see 3 optionsMove forward with an offer using conventional loan pre-qualification-Not as attractive of an offer to the seller-Possibility that appraiser calls out structural/electrical issues that need to be fixed before closing, effectively causing financing to fail- Best terms and fewest loan fees for meUse a rehab style loan such as ChoiceRenovation-Even less attractive than a conventional offer to seller, but less risk of failed financing if appraiser calls out issues-Slightly worse fees and interest rates compared to conventional-Lenders tell me possibly up to 60-90 days closing in some cases, with red-tape for contractor requirements and draw schedules (sounds like the most hoops to jump through during rehab)Use a hard money lender-Most attractive loan option I can give to seller so I can compete-Much higher fees and interest rate for me-need to refinance into a conventional at the end of rehab (not familiar with seasoning periods but I think this is a factor as well)Which option would you do?

The main downside is being dependent on the HOA—issues like poor management, rising fees, or unexpected assessments can hurt your investment.

I'm not satisfied with not filing the rental in an LLC simply because it's more simple and might cost me an additional filing fee .

@Deirdre Lizio see a lot of competiting PMCs start with a pledge of doing it better than "what's out there".Always interesting to revisit them 3-5 years later - after they've experienced the reality of challenging tenants AND owners.Look no further than Evernest: they started out with flat fee management at $99/month and promises of better & fairer service & pricing.Now they're at 10%, capped at $199/month - wonder what changed?

You may have to renovate a property, building maintenance fee may go up, rent will come down and vacancies will rise as the old properties become undesirable with time.

Separate accounts per property incurs a lot of overhead, such as minimum balances or fees for missing the minimum.I use separate accounts for each tenant's security deposits.

Just plan on paying the agent's fee if you are successful.