For instance, I have in my lease, a month-to-month goes to an 8% increase & I reiterate it.

In those instances, a homestead dec will not protect you.

For instance, some accountants only provide tax and bookkeeping services, while others aim at being a "trusted advisor" to your business.

You are not collecting a commission in this instance.

The appraisal came back in the morning of the 6th and I receive a notification that the file was submitted to underwriting with a 24-48 hr turnaround time.Meanwhile, the seller flew in from Florida on the 6th only to receive an email that we need an extension to the 16th. 

Bay Area for instance its easy to get 1 and 9  2 and 8  HML... so that does not leave you much spread if your cost of capital is say 6 or 7%... 

In some instances the annual ROI has exceeded 30% on some of these investments.

I did  extensive research, contacting multiple construction companies, estimating materials + labor.

We have extensive experience with residential, commercial, and industrial construction.

For instance, if you own 25% of the LLC that holds the rental, and your partners agree to pay you for the management, then I do think you should create a S-corp as a management company, whereby you pay yourself as employee.