I’d love to cut the cost of our rent and maybe have a profit on top.My questions are: How does the market look for House Hacks at this time?

I have been in the real estate community for some time now and feel as though I should just know what to do and how.

There are definitely pros and cons to each so I figured I would just lay out a few benefits and personal thoughts: Small banks/brokerages:Pros:- Some regional knowledge of the market- Possibility of more creative lending guidelines with bank specific programs- Sometimes they have competitive rates for their areaCons: - weak balance sheet (more strict on some guidelines, no wiggle room, inability to be flexible or grant exceptions because they cannot afford to hold less than perfect loans)- Can't scale with clients to different markets- Usually limits exposure to individual investors (they don't want one investor to be too big of a portion of their balance sheet)- Lack of experience with multiple solutions (tend to have 2 or 3 loan products they sell and are too niche to provide tailored solutions)Large banks/brokerages:Pros:- Large compliance departments that understand individual market guidelines (typically each state has specific lending guidelines that augment the national baseline)- Ability to scale into multiple markets with same lender (licensed in many states)- Impossible for individual investors to "outgrow" a large bank's balance sheet (not concerned with one investor's concentration)- More lending solutions available for different scenarios- Often comparable or better rates given the game is volume basedCons:- Can be more difficult to get fast responses if the bank/brokerage does not have good follow up systems in place (or if the underwriting/processing staff gets overwhelmed)- Bad large banks can feel less like a relationship and more like a cog in a factory (less personal)Overall, I have worked from both and worked with both as a loan officer, branch manager, and as an investor/client myself. 

Most professionals will recommend a separate LLC for every $1 million in assets but I don't think that's necessary.

Because I am a full-time college student and I work part-time I ask that the interested parties submit a rental application before I show the house, but many of them refuse to give a rental application unless they can see the house first.The criteria for what I look for in a rental application are as follows:Credit report: I look to see if they have had at least 90% or higher on-time paymentsBackground check: I look to see if they have ever been evictedJob and rental references: I look for a steady income and make sure they can afford it with what they make I also call their current landlord to make sure they have been a good tenant and confirm the information the tenant gave me.I currently have it listed at $1650/month with a 12-month lease.

We use delta fixtures as they have warranty a couple times even when it wasn’t thier fault.

For material participation, would our combined time in the property need to exceed 100hrs and greater than anyone else? 

You are looking for a practical advice now to CYA.You fear you mean need some evidence of your timely and correct actions, and that’s a reasonable concern: I’d take a photo of the envelope to make sure it shows the address and the post office stamp.

Its those times that you deviate away from the norm that things go bad 

I have sold three fix and flip homes this year after only a short time on the market.