My second question is if I take most of the deprecation on the property in the first 5 years, is it in my best interest to purchase another rental property within those 5 years?

As primarily a luxury STR buyer's broker and 20 year mortgage broker I can testify the importance of a reliable and experienced strategic mortgage partner. 

I’ve been thinking about real estate investing for several years now and didn’t expect to be so confused when trying to make my first purchase. 

Reading through some other forum posts, it looks like there are much simpler partnerships, entities, or offerings that would meet what I am trying to do:My Role:-Decide on properties to purchase, mostly SFHs-Establish LLCs or other business structures to hold the real estate and distribute returns-Purchase properties, using loans as needed depending on the ROI/cash flow desired from investors-Act as property manager for the properties-Depreciate properties held in business entities to minimize taxable income to investors-Distribute returns to investors-Create investments that have high cash flow (CF) and low appreciation (App) , moderate CF and App, low CF and high App-Find investors from connections, friends, and family with no public advertising-Advise in a minimal capacity on tax and real estate strategies-Send investment reports to investors-Be fiduciary to all investors-Receive compensation from PM and other management work I do related to the investmentsInvestors:-Can be non-accredited -Invest as little as $1000-Can use retirement accountsWhat references can people recommend for me to learn about business structures, partnerships, securities, taxes, or other topics to get me started on learning what will work for my goals?

While a general rule is that you can purchase property in different states under an LLC formed in another state, you may wish to ensure that the LLC structure and path that you have set-up is appropriate for you and provides the benefits that you are looking for before transferring ownership into those LLCs.

Sometimes when a church is converted to residential the taxation may start at purchase or it could revert back to a date - that would be something to consider. 

Both of mine purchase tax liens and now both own multiple tax deed properties that are now rental houses.

Several years ago, even with high cash flow from a business, I felt fairly locked out of the places I wanted to purchase due to endlessly rising prices and rates that required constant underwriting revisions to the point where it wasn't worth the time expense. 

Anything that's quick and easy to purchase when someone is washing a car on a hot day. 

They have made an offer to purchase.