Mortgage Interest Deduction: You can deduct the interest paid on a mortgage used to buy, build, or improve your home.4.

To mitigate this risk without using an LLC, consider:Umbrella Insurance: This provides additional liability coverage beyond your standard homeowners insurance.Equity Stripping: This involves placing a lien on the property to make it less attractive to potential creditors.Land Trusts: These can provide some anonymity and protection while allowing you to maintain personal ownership.Insurance:Ensure you have comprehensive insurance coverage, including:Property insuranceLiability insuranceFlood insurance (especially important in Florida)Loss of income insuranceLegal Structures:While you've decided against using an LLC, consider consulting with a local attorney specializing in real estate investments to explore other potential legal structures that might offer protection without the tax implications you're trying to avoid.Property Management:Given that you're based in Europe, consider hiring a professional property management company to handle day-to-day operations, tenant screening, and maintenance issues.Market Research:Thoroughly research the specific areas in Florida where you plan to invest.

So are lease options ok if it’s a commercial building in Texas?

My hope is that building departments will act quicker in issuing permits, as this change will increase their workload. 

It feels like you are trying to skip steps rather than doing the hard work of delaying gratification, thinking long term, and slowly building wealth.

i.e if someone gets bit from a dog living in my building, am I more liable if that dog is a 50lb pitbull than if it is a 15lb yorkie?

It seems one of the requirements that a building be stabilized is that it has 6 or more units. 

As you start to build a relationship, I've had success paying contractors for quotes until you do a job with them.

They build out the Pro-forma for you so you have an idea of what you are getting into.

@Thea Hernandez Welcome and so happy to see you building things up.