It's owned by a parent LLC in a protected state by your living trust.

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.

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.

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

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.

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. 

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.

You want to live in Odessa not San Antonio.