I hosted attorney panels in local REI clubs, and there never was any consensus.In our great state of Texas, your best option could be a Series LLC: one LLC that has individual compartments for each property.

This involves research, networking and gathering local knowledge.

We will usually comp cleaning fee or give gift cards to local restaurant to comp any legitimate issues.

Jay,I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation over one that is local. 

Find and join a local REI or land lord Association and attend meetings to get local perspectives on markets, LL/tenant laws and experiences etc.Hang out here and search threads that may be relevant to you and your desires/needs.Decide on your objectives from investing, taking into account your resources from financial and time perspectives.

Hi Victor, You should talk to a local lender about a bank statement loan program.

They should be able to point you in the direction of someone local and have an idea of what the cost is.

I'm not sure if I am going to start local (since the market is so high here) or if I am going to go OOS.

Very rarely will a bank bid on a tax foreclosure, if it happens it's usually small local banks who would rather have the county do the foreclosure instead of them.  

For the rentals, we always have a local "on call" relationship with a local investor to assist when needed.