Ultimately, you have to figure out your preferred mix.  

In the meantime, I end up with tenants that don't pay, they trash the place because the PM co wont inspect regularly, and then ultimately get evicted or leave, holding me with unpaid rent I will never see again.  

If you go out of state, there is no reason to constrain on Dallas until you have done your research.I would expect that some who use neighbourhoodscout do it because it saves them time and money, not because the service is altruistic. 

The insurance inspector did not catch it so we saved some money.

How much did it ultimately cost you?

It will end up saving you both a lot of time and increase efficiency.

What is the best way to shelter money from taxes and saving for future real estate investments?

Our plan was to pay off our loans as fast as we can, start a corporation to mitigate risk and start a joint savings account where we do 50/50 contributions to build up cash to invest. 

Try North American Savings Bank and First Western Federal Savings as leaders in the field.If the trust is under an IRA, then you will want to be sure to educate yourself on the concept of UDFI taxation on debt-financed real estate income.  

Ultimately, you may need to have some serious work done, but you can shop around for someone who is rated well on angieslist or other resources.