I live in Houston, TX, and I plan on starting in the short term rental hosting business.

From my research it appears that I cannot use the Qualified Joint Venture to form a single member LLC for husband+wife, because I live in NC which is not a community property state.1.

I apply the fee to the first months rent because we are hard up for money where I live.

People know what you're all about, unless they are have lived under a rock, There is always the day of closing, when you decide to back out of the contract, leaving the sellers hanging.

He gave me three scenarios which were absolutely crazy.One was from a landlord who used to live in Paterson, NJ, many decades ago and has had a realtor friend manage the property for the last few years while they are retired in Italy.

I just wanted to introduce myself and brag on my town - we are experiencing a lot of growth with new developments that are geared towards bringing in Columbus folks who want to live in a more affordable area.

Also want to be sure that it is a town that is safe for families and younger couples since we would be house hacking and having tenants living beside us.

But instead of getting steered in a direction of right/left per your example, I'm told "you shouldn't be messing with concepts you don't understand" and "it's not simple, go get some advice from a real tax pro" who in all likelihood will just be an accountant who files taxes for a living and has no real experience with these concepts and will tell me it's not worth it, like Mike did. 

You want to live in Odessa not San Antonio.

I live in New York (for now 🙄) and will be buying investment property outside NY state.