In my view, homeowner's insurance + umbrella + professional property manager should be good enough to (i) prevent lawsuits and (ii) protect you sufficiently if the worst happens. 

Although I do property management for my own houses, I like to recommend @Craig Bellot to manage other properties, as he is very professional. 

Is there a source for the following data;  I am looking for the "norm" for the expense ratio (based on either GPR or Gross Income) for individually metered garden style apartments in the south east and the mid Atlantic (Region IV) : Marketing Insurance Janitorial Service Lawn/Snow Licenses Miscellaneous Professional Fees Accounting Legal Property Management Fees Repairs and Maintenance Resident Superintendent Salaries and Wages Supplies Taxes Real Estate Personal Property Payroll Other Trash Removal Utilities Electricity Fuel Oil Gas Sewer and Water Telephone Other (whatever I missed)

And these are good tenants, who pay on time and try to take care of things themselves with the professionals I send.And the truth is, worse than the expense, is trying to get people to help me resolve things.

I would love to get to know local real estate investors and other local professionals from the area, as I am new the investing in this city and its surroundings.

I would like to know the tax benefits of the RE Professional .

I want to make sure this deal is mutually beneficial and I want to sound like a professional (although I'm a newbie) so I will continue to search the BP forums for tips and advice.

Paul,...If you're going to wholesale like a professional, only pursue deals that are worth Cash Buyers' time (target for 60% ARV if you're not confident about estimating repairs)Some wholesalers aim to lock up as many houses as possible and then walk away when their 2 cash buyers won't buy [bad] deals.

We would not argue with an attorney or some other professionals if they put it in writing they were willing to risk something in the grey area.

If your AGI is between 100 to 150, the 25k is phased out and get partial deduction until you reach 150k.If your AGI is more than 150k, then those losses will be suspended (unless you qualify as RE professional) until when you sell the house and will offset your passive gain when you dispose.