@Brian Ambuel You bet. 

Also, CamaPlan is very active on Bigger Pockets and have good reviews.

This trade or business requirement can be particularly difficult for rental properties to meet and is usually based on the extent of the taxpayer's involvement in the rental activity.

Given that, how can I take advantage from a tax perspective of losses on passive activity from owning rental properties?

@Maxton JohnsonIt really depends on what real estate activity you are trying to be involved in.It also depends on what your goals are.It is true that for a NY LLC to be established that it needs to have its information placed in 2 ads for 6 weeks.

Since you'd prefer to be MLS only vs. an active realtor your broker might require some compensation too.

One thing I can say about Foreign National borrowers, you can usually bet they have good savings, multiple paid on time mortgages and other loans under their belts when they contact me.     

I actively invest and sell real estate in Pensacola and I think it’s a great town for buy and hold.  

Have them make the premium payments to you and you keep the policy active.

Local banks are generally more useful once you have to many active mortgages to get a loan from a major bank.