., and appears to want to continue some ownership interest or long-term financial interest.  

Using the "Contract for Deed" wait 6 months or 1 year (depends on the specific loan to be used later, which you should identify before entering into the deal) to "season" your ownership.

At the same time I would be retaining the ownership of the condo which I can then rent through the LLC. 

One recommendation: check out the properties going to auction before bidding and check with the county or a title company to see if there are any clouds on title that may jeopardize your right to ownership if you win the bid.

I'm really looking into this for my newly formed LLC to create history of ownership.  

Despite you living in the unit, should still calculate "as if you were paying rent" in my opinion - since after all, you have to live somewhere, whether it's a unit you "pay yourself" for, or pay someone else for.That leaves you with a slight surplus of 52$ /month.What you also need to now account for however is:- On-going maintenance costs not included (i.e paint, carpets, windows, whatever else that will arise during the ownership of the duplex)- Vacancy allowance (if the tenant moves out and it takes a month or two to get a new tenant in, your surplus for the year vanishes).- (Leaving this for other members to chime in on what else they'd recommend budgeting for that I may have missed...?)

I am sure there are other great places, but there is a low cost of ownership barrier here and the returns are pretty good.

Interesting to see how home sales have been increasing modestly this year and then look at the market news and see the subject title above. How much time do we have before that markets looks to make another shift Down...

These are portfolio loans, as Freddie/Fannie have a limit on percent ownership of condos in any given bldg. amazingly they offered me 4.25% fixed for 30 years, which is exactly what I wanted as I'm holding these long term. 

I buy about 5 houses a month so I want to maximize all the benefits of ownership as much as possible.