It never ceases to amaze me how come so many go to the effort of getting a great income, and great credit score, but forget the most vital ingredient that Lenders might look at: their savings record!

We planned to just live here (maybe another 1-2 years) and save up as much money as we can.

You can save that 9-10k a year for the next property, while you do the management of the property yourself and learn. 

For a business owner with $100,000 taxable annual income, the net tax savings for using an S Corporation instead of an LLC in taxes paid every year can be as high as $7,500.Holding PropertiesWhen holding properties as a cash flow investor, the LLC (or LP) is generally the better choice because an LLC has more liberal distribution rules.

I saved $629 per year on one property by switching from Allstate to Safeco:Dwelling coverage $76,500 Liability $300,000Safeco $486  (.6 % of insured value) vs Allstate $1115Heres my new agent for anyone interested, shes great to deal with:Jodi FirestoneLanders Insurance1424 Sherman Ave #400, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814

I have done all of the boxes which helped save the electrician time and save me some money.

You might have saved me some legals trouble that could have resulted from different people doing PM work across different LLCs.  

Do you just use a “high interest” (I use that term loosely..) savings account?

-I have an excellent credit rating, decent IRA (which I refuse to touch), $150k savings-I have never had a mortgage or loan and applied for my first credit card about two years ago.

Replacing it with rocks like you did should save you headaches in the future.