I subscribe to several wholesaler mailing lists and recommend my buyers do too. 

I have thought of several of those things, And several I haven't, but the main thing is the partner will basically just be a "Lender" and I will do all of the grunt work.  

There are several in the Baltimore area.An attorney who specializes in landlord tenant and collections is Jeffrey Tapper in Owings mills. 

We aren’t looking for any get rich quick ideas, but more for the ability to add significant stability to our lives within the next several years, including rehab/flips and buy and holds.

As far as I know, there's not been major changes to the tax laws on this since.There's several situations that leads to taxation of the boot.

For example you never start a direct mail campaign if you do not have the budget to do it for several mailings regardless of the results (starting out). 

Then I either get better than average rents or I'll sell it.First I repair/replace things, if needed, that cause more damage (to property or life) if they fail, roof, water heater, plumbing & electrical... anything health and safety related. 

I am contributing my maximum to 401k with a 6% match and a Health savings account to use for doctors visits.

For property management, which you might want to have if you manage your properties, there are some advantages (health plan, retirement plan) to have it taxed as an S-corp or C-corp, but it will be separate from your assets holding entity, and will not hold any properties or significant assets.Financing makes a difference when holding in personal name vs an entity.

@Mark Futalan I agree with the several people above who advocate for flexibility as long as the booking schedule allows.