You could get away with paying no money down, but typically they have higher "lease" payments where a certain amount of the monthly goes towards your eventual down payment.  

(per 2 CPAs)(Yes "we" can) thus taking a substantial hit on the profit vs. the normal "earned income tax" like I originally thought.Would it make sense to have the LLC file under an S-Corp in 2015 in preparation of selling 2 houses, pay myself 1/3 profit as salary, then the other 2/3s would stay in company/ and eventually be paid as dividends thus saving from self-employment tax/ Newere Obama Tax and possibly if held for over 1yr tax drops to 15%?

I know I overshot maintenance but I figure with an older home a big expense will pop up eventually.

My ultimate goal is to eventually become a real estate developer.

Yes, as much as I intend to eventually acquire larger properties, I think starting with 2-4 units make the most sense.

Our goal with REI is to eventually make enough in passive income to cover mine and my wife's incomes from our w-2 JOBS, plus a little bit extra, at which point we would like to convert to fulltime real estate investors. 

At a certain point I started getting press coverage, and people who read articles in the newspaper were contacting me and eventually investing. 

She eventually will be moving there in a year, so we're deciding to visit to check out the different areas.  

I purchased my first investment/home a few years ago and intend on renting it out eventually.

Also, think of your PM job as you learning the rehabbing process inside and outside so you can eventually do them yourself without being employed.