I do not have any specifics on this however I feel all the information you will need can be found free on here, or by asking people with the right experience. 

Feel free to reach out any time :) 

If you live in one side and want to STR the other, that won't work because each unit is its own primary residence.That said, I have clients who have successfully rented out a guest house/ADU in LA on a short-term basis and since they occupy the main residence, they are not bound by the 120 day limit to fulfill the primary residence occupancy requirements.

What I did was buy a single family home in the worst neighborhood you would feel comfortable moving your wife and kids to within 15 minutes of your home.

Just choose what you feel would work best for you now and you can always shift in the future after you have done a few deals and get some experience.

If you want to discuss these concepts in more depth feel free to reach out to me in a message.

I haven't really looked at AK as prices are pretty high in most areas that I thought would bring guests and that fact that it is pretty much a fly in area only.

Not to deter you from getting an LLC, but I would look into getting a Umbrella Policy for your AZ home and get an amount of coverage that you feel is necessary.

Feel free to shoot me a PM if you'd like to chat about your strategy. 

I’m looking to purchase a condo on a golf course in Green Valley Ranch but I’m getting mixed feelings.