They don't come up often, and when they do they go fast.Remember that Elk Grove is essentially a suburb of Sacramento, and what are suburbs full of?

You are essentially paying the same except depreciation allows you to keep more cash up front. 

Essentially, if you establish a relationship with a local bank, they might say "we're not going to count the rent as income, but we're also not going to count the investment property as debt because you are fully servicing it through the rental income."

With a recent change in insurance, we were told we would get a refund from one company, asked to pay the next, but will still be paying escrow monthly which means we will be paying double essentially this year for insurance on one property.I am leaning toward paying insurance and taxes myself. 

If you can find a strong, cash flowing property... you're essentially a commodities investor just like a metals investor is.

Essentially we treat each entity as a different property owner. 

Lastly, by using your heloc, you are essentially buying with 100% financing and highly leveraged properties are hard to cash flow in general.

I think that many folks are accepting essentially zero cashflow with the hopes that 10% annual appreciation will just keep on keeping on.Looking forward to being proved wrong!

If we buy a home for $400K, put $50K into rehab and it is worth $500K post renovation, are you saying that we can then get a loan by putting less money down overall because we would essentially be working the reno costs into the loan?

As @Taylor L. has already suggested, consulting with an attorney about the legal structure is essential, especially when it comes to bringing investors to a deal.