Also, if you work as independent, do you hire a CPA or something for taxes?

I have also thought about another Course of Action to do this independently.

I paid $500 recently for an independent appraisal of a 4-family.

My hopes is that this will help my family become financially independent over the next 15-20 years.As far as saving goes, I think I need money for at least 20% down, as well as a rainy day fund for fixes, empty vacancy, "contingency", etc. 

Verify everything independently.

I still think of it as the "old people, fuddy duddy" apartment complex...right down to the independently owned beauty parlor and café on the first floor (very unusual for my area).The building itself even looks a bit "grandma"...elegant and in great condition, but a bit dated and old fashioned, with heavy Italianate type of architectural features.  

It's the small multis (2 - 5 units) which do not have an easy solution - most of these were not plumbed independently for each unit on the cold water feed.  

I've been reading a lot of financial independence type blogs and all of that has lead me to Bigger Pockets. 

But buying and holding real estate, liens, notes etc is NOT transacting business.In the case of Memphis our advice came from the Tennessee Secretary of State:The Tennessee Business Corporation Act (TCA 48-11-101 et. seq.) does not define “transacting business,” but does provide the following non-inclusive and non-exhaustive list of activities that do not constitute transacting business in Tennessee: Maintaining, defending or settling any proceeding, claim or dispute;Holding meetings of the board of directors or shareholders or carrying on other activities concerning internal corporate affairs;Maintaining bank accounts;Maintaining offices or agencies for the transfer, exchange and registration of the corporation’s own securities or appointing and maintaining trustees or depositories with respect to those securities;Selling through independent contractors;Soliciting or obtaining orders, whether by mail or through employees or agents or otherwise, if the orders require acceptance outside Tennessee before they become contracts;Creating or acquiring indebtedness, deeds of trusts, mortgages and security interests in real or personal property;Securing or collecting debts or enforcing mortgages, deeds of trust, and security interests in property securing the debts;Owning, without more, real or personal property (including, for a reasonable time, the management and rental of real property acquired in connection with enforcing a mortgage or deed of trust if the owner is attempting to liquidate the owner’s investment and if no office or other agency, other than an independent agency, is maintained in Tennessee);Conducting an isolated transaction that is completed within one month and that is not one in the course of repeated transactions of a like nature; or Transacting business in interstate commerce.We have set up hundreds of clients in 9 countries so we make sure our advice is good.

If they get a report of mold I would do my own independent test and remediation plan.