I've invested in/renovated a number of single family properties in the suburbs of Philadelphia (Mainline), with values ranging from $400k-$1.3m and decided to tackle a significantly larger project 6 months ago; comps were incredible with high sale prices and very low days-on-market, it looked like a home run.The loan is under an LLC but with a personal guarantee; the renovations are complete and the house is beautiful, but the market has been unbelievably slow compared to the previous 3 years, on which our financials were based. 

As my colleagues explained, the short story is:there are no tax benefits from LLCs for rental propertiesyou may still want to create an LLC (or several) for legal protection reasons, not for taxesasset protection is for attorneys only, not for friends and not even for accountantsif your business becomes something other than rentals - then you might need an LLC for tax purposes, but it's a separate conversationGood luck!

The prices seems good (I hear a lot of people saying its over-valued but when comparing to CA prices, it seems much better and affordable). 

bridge loan will defeat the purpose UNLESS you have a smokin deal and its worth spending 5 to 10k from a guy like me to bridge you ..

I left out some info on purpose and will update as the flip progresses. 

In addition, short sales are "as is" so an inspection is for my purpose and my lendor only.

Design a uniform Request For Quote (RFQ) worksheet so the contractors can compare apples to apples.   

Please know that my purpose is meant to teach you something about real estate and is not meant as an attack on you personally. 

Did you already compare it to actual comps (sold properties in the last 6 months?)

Show them what comparable homes are going for and that your price is below market.