Considering that the only group sued more than landlords is doctors, I'd say the benefits of asset protection far outweigh the savings you are looking at. 

Finally, take advantage of free landlord software out there to help with filling vacancies.

Hi Chris, For screening tenants there is free software out there that will do it all for you.

Just have the Title Attorney break out their 2nd mtg. note template, fill in the terms and send to seller.Seller of course gets to U/W their own loan, and can ask for Credit Report, income, assets, etc. 

These are large scale financial assets, many time with emotional attachments.

I now have inherited 25 acres from my mom who needed to get rid of her assets.

But if you ever ran into a situation like health, accident, etc. forcing you to liquidate some or all of your assets, it would be nice to know your end buyers won't have any issues lining up financing.

If it's a decent amount, then file an LLC in the state you're purchasing the asset. 

You could use the tax prep software you started with to calculate your tax liability based on the numbers you put in (this may not be the same number the CPA comes up with though, as it's likely something is overlooked).But this way you are sure it is right in the end, and you are able to use a CPA.Hope this helps!

Zillow is a tech company so I am surprised why they would get into asset flipping turning themselves more into an investment company.