Main home should pull in $800/mo due to other rentals/apartment pricing in area.

You brought up a good point on the fixed income - mainly through social security.

Main home should pull in $800/mo due to other rentals/apartment pricing in area.

One of the main questions when starting is if you need a real estate license which you don't.

Shortage of funds among banks means less in the money supply.

You may have to get creative...find a duplex in a good area and Airbnb the units or find an SFR with a legal accessory dwelling unit and live in the smaller unit while renting out the main etc. 

That should tell you something about supply from a bank's perspective.

My dad owned a small commercial property for nearly 50 years without an LLC, though he looked into it in the 1980's and his lawyer told him to forget it.As to mitigating risks, the main one is insurance, good landlord insurance with umbrella, preferably $2 million or greater.

The pro's and con's are mainly prrsonal decisions regarding how you choose to operate your business.

Not to say that none of those things won't add value - a good home inspection may be worth far more than it cost - only that they are ancillary costs to the main course, which is "I will sell you this piece of property with buildings for $X".