Collecting a TIN after the payment will not alleviate your liability to the IRS for this.

The proceeds from the refinance are treated as a return of capital, which does not trigger any tax liability.

Not only you can reduce your tax liability now, but you can also use your retirement account to invest into assets that you understand and can control in a tax-deferred or tax-free environment (if you utilize Roth). 

It actually started with the International Accounting Standards Board adopting new accounting rules to recognize assets and liabilities, then adopted by the US Financial Accounting Standards Board which in turn was made a requirement by the IRS. 

This seems appealing I have scoured the forums, and there are lots of discussions about liability and tax shielding, but nobody seems to mention the issue of limiting the requirement for showing cash reserves in their posts.

A single member limited liability company is considered a "disregarded entity," which means that the LLC is ignored and the property is treated as if owned directly by you for income tax purposes. 

A single member limited liability company is considered a "disregarded entity," which means that the LLC is ignored and the property is treated as if owned directly by you for income tax purposes. 

Not sure what kind of liability coverage, if any, is normal for landlord type property insurance.

Deeding the property to your name does leave you open to personal liability in a lawsuit.

For that, you protect yourself via liability insurance and using an LLC.