Agree with others that your DCR is too low (1.25 is lowest I've seen quoted) and in my limited experience I've only seen 15 and 20yr terms on commercial RE from community banks.  

(incidentally, I had already switched carriers for higher liability limits before claim so current carrier is not the one who paid out).- claim #2: also submitted earlier this year for vandalism in NC rental property and just received much smaller payout. 

As long as you do that the sky's the limit. 

Ours involve creation of notes, and then forgiving them over several years, to take advantage of the annual limits on gifting.As to the mortgage, you cannot just take his name off the mortgage.

Most of the large ones seem to be limited to only the north side and I'm in need of a cleaning/repair and possibly replacement on a 2-flat near Cermak and California.

The value that your wife is bringing to the table is actually easier to convert into a percentage of ownership in the deal because you should have a pro-forma and financial projections for the deal and the commissions that she will not charge actually have a dollar amount that is easily calculated based on the numbers you are projecting.Our business model is based on syndications for large multifamily properties where we bring equity from our investors as limited partners and we participate on the general partnership side of the deal alongside our operating partners (which in your case would be the builder).

I read a few blog posts about it, but still I am trying to get into real estate with limited funds while working a 9-5 M-F job.

However, for the taxable account, what would be my options to limit my tax basis (as well, how would I be able to calculate what my capital gains would be - is there a simple way to do so?)?

The properties have appreciated more than that over the last few years due to inventory shortage and limited appreciation the previous several.

This may or may not make sense depending on your ratio of days on the road vs the property.If you do go with SC, I would again recommend looking outside of city limits (doesn't have to be in the mountains, just not the city itself).