If you intend to expand to multiple property ownership, or if you do or intend to have other assets you wouldn’t want to jeopardize by real property ownership liability; then spending $350 - $550 to set up an LLC, and $125 for tax software to fie taxes, and 3 minutes to go online once a year to file a one half page information report, seems like a small price to pay for the protection, peace of mind, possible retirement plan benefits provided.   

They have recently added staff to improve response rates, we have seen steady activity even this far into the winter and conversion from leads to tenants has improved as well.

Keep in mind there are lots of ways to make money in real estate and some strategies take more money to cash flow.

One thing to keep in mind is that institutional lenders typically won't allow you to borrow the down payment.

My license is not active at this time due to fees humbling me.

Passive income is money that you earn without actively working for it.

Look into his stuff to learn more about creative finance methods but be mindful about spending thousands on a course. 

Primary homes have a little different decision to them that a straight investment property.The other thing I would keep in mind here is that house hacking REDUCES my cost of home ownership.

Plus, it gives me peace of mind knowing that I have a buffer for unexpected repairs.

While I am not an accountant, and you should speak to yours about this, there is a loophole in the tax code called the STR Loophole which allows your STR (provided you are not using a PM) to be counted as active income/active expense so that the costs, payments, depreciation etc. goes against your active W-2 income.