They smoked in it a few years then power was cut off so....theygrilled in the living room!

And keep in mind the weather here in the Willamette valley can be daunting for the very long wet dark cold winters.. 

For example, the tenant didn't replace a single light bulb or the tenant took the batteries out of the smoke alarm...it seemed it kept going off when they were smoking apparently.

Others have already indicated why you shouldn't put your tri-plex in the LLC, so I'm just going to address the words I underlined above.So, your tax guy is smoking crack - a lot of it - and here's why.An S-Corp is meant to be a business. 

My question in this post is NOT whether or not one will happen, but rather about what those of us who began our REI journey AFTER the crash can learn from those who experienced it firsthand.So my question is directed to those in the BP community who were involved in real estate during the dark days of 2007-2009.  

Hopefully by that point I've built a strong enough relationship with him that he says "yea Derek I'd like to invest in it with you, your numbers look good and I trust you" In other words unless you have a smoking deal sitting in the coffer you don't want to ask for money, you want to build a relationship. 

Certain types of commercial space can go dark and not find another use for 10 years if ever.

I think what you suggested is a great idea  as it would be cheaper for everyone as the attorney would not have to learn about how this person or Company tries to blow smoke. if you decide to go that route please let us know

We tried to go back to the seller and get a credit to do the panels and bring the fire/smoke/CO monitors and alarms up to code, and got shot down.

I would make sure the escrow is large enough to cover any conceivable repair bill otherwise if the escrow is short your seller will go dark.