But all the Alabama Supreme Court rulings that I have read has ruled in favor of the previous land owner being able to redeem the property, unless you have a tax deed and have had adverse  for 3 years after obtaining the tax deed.

The rules don't change much in terms of what is tax deductible just because it sits in an LLC.You are correct in that putting it in an LLC prevents you from getting government agency (i.e. fannie) backed debt, which is allowed on up to 4 unit buildings. 

There are a lot of advantages to commercial like there's no rules on seasoning so you can sometimes turn the refinance around much quicker.

From what I've heard they have stopped issuing new licenses and have been enforcing the rules against people operating without a license.

Live in it for a year to meet the primary residence rule, make the cosmetic repairs to force equity, then look into refinancing out of your VA loan into a conventional loan, so you can use your VA loan again. 

In Texas Josh there are a lot of weird cash out rules. 

Raise the rent $50, but replace the flooring in a room or paint a room, or something like that.

Private Money Investor, with 50-50 split, 50- 50 profit or loss share.

They don't need to follow the federal rules.

I don't want to promote on here, as it's prohibited in the rules.