It will require some work but we are extremely hopeful and excited. 

I did a credit check, criminal background check, got pay stubs, required income 3x rent, and got employer confirmation and prior landlord reference (but I never got in touch with the prior landlord successfully)

A multi-member H/W LLC in NC will require filing a partnership tax return.

Other office activities required?

It's not uncommon for conventional financing to require points on investment properties.

The three tests outlined above are applied annually, so you may qualify as a real estate professional in one year and not in other tax years.It is also very important to document material participation.To meet the requirements of real estate professional status, it’s essential to keep detailed records of activities and time spent working on the properties so you can verify your real estate professional status in the event the IRS decides to audit your return.For example, you may keep a contemporaneous appointment book, calendar, or narrative summary of the time spent performing real estate activities.

It has always seemed a little disingenuous to me that the VA offers "0%" down - but then requires the funding fee.

However after all the work thats required which includes landscape, parking lot, fencing lighting and interior/exterior work, it looks like the presumed cost of remodeling it will be double that, although Im not positive (still taking bids).Ive priced a comparable property in our area which has similar square footage and lot size and they seem to be going between $700-800k, and so my question is: based on a higher than expected construction cost which is necessary to finish our project, one which will exceed the amount of money of what a similar property goes for in our neighbrhood, should I continue with this project, or an alternative plan would be to simply beautify it for approximately 100-150k and ditch the plans, and flip it instead for approximately 700-800k now that its zoned commercial.My fear is that if I do invest the moneys to finish the project over the budget I initially priced it for, and the business doesnt take off, I would initially lose money on this investment.Thank you for taking the time reading this.

While you are not required to have a property manager for your long-term rental (short term is a different story), you can only handle administrative functions such as making phone calls, paying bills, selecting a contractor, etc. and must be completely hands off. 

I ran through the tools on this site and found it is not as desirable as I had expected if certain risks exist.