Another less-ideal factor is that if I buy these on one loan (as may be necessary to meet minimum deal size) then I will have them forever linked, even after I refinance, unless I pay off the loan.

There are a lot of factors, but you may need to start with a DSCR loan, which looks mostly at the amount of income from the units vs the mortgage.

Given these factors I would wager a guess of around $2300-$2500/month in rents, however with a 5 bedroom home in one of these areas it can be very possible to get that in rents without having to go to the headache of rehab.

Each turn means more wear and tear repairs (not reimbursable through security deposit) so factoring in higher repairs/turnover costs could be worthwhile.  

My bank has 5 branches, a local board with people I know, and other key factors.

As Im typing this Im thinking spend as little as possible to get into a prop that cashflows and hold onto as much as I can for #2.WHAT OTHER FACTORS WOULD YOU CONSIDER IF YOU HAD TO MAKE THIS DECISION?

Having an LLC is not necessary.However, it should be decided once you have a conversation with an Attorney and an Insurance agent.Some factors that come into play are1) Your Net worth2) Your Risk Tolerance3) Your Risk Exposure

I'd say either factor in the extra cost of the lengthy turn to your projections OR find the team to meet the time frames needed. 1 to 2 weeks should be very doable.

So there is a savings of whatever you would have paid in rent by choosing this option.With buying a rental property once it’s paid off you now have a steady stream of cash equivalent to or more than what you pay in rent.That’s not even factoring in the fact a loan on a rental property is paid by someone else (the tenants) during the duration of the loan.I would avoid investment in single family homes or anything that requires immediate renovation for now.

Whether or not you should create more LLCs to separate the properties can depend on a few factors.