But many banks require the owners of small businesses to personally guarantee the debt of the business so that Johnny Businessowner can't just walk out on the debt and claim corporate protection.It might be helpful not so much that you wish to have to go after the representative/owner personally but more so as encouragement that the company will keep a better eye on their charges.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as: a bank, insurance company, registered investment company, business development company, or small business investment company;an employee benefit plan, within the meaning of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, if a bank, insurance company, or registered investment adviser makes the investment decisions, or if the plan has total assets in excess of $5 million;a charitable organization, corporation, or partnership with assets exceeding $5 million;a director, executive officer, or general partner of the company selling the securities;a business in which all the equity owners are accredited investors;a natural person who has individual net worth, or joint net worth with the person's spouse, that exceeds $1 million at the time of the purchase, or has assets under management of $1 million or above, excluding the value of the individual's primary residence;[10][11]a natural person with income exceeding $200,000 in each of the two most recent years or joint income with a spouse exceeding $300,000 for those years and a reasonable expectation of the same income level in the current year;[12] ora trust with assets in excess of $5 million, not formed to acquire the securities offered, whose purchases a sophisticated person makes."

You're kind of piercing the corporate veilAny time you intermingle personal/business it opens you up for some liability.

I would also recommend forming some type of corporation or a LLC.  

some of my clients, in a similar situation, went with a corporation (C corp, not an S) that owned a different LLC for each property.

From what I have heard of Florida that it has a growing population and a need for housing.Forming an entity of some type of a corporation or a LLC will help you in keeping your personal items separate.  

I'd put your money to work once you understand what you are doing, find some partners that you gel with and complement you and  get in the game.  

Hello,Can anyone here recommend a real estate lawyer in Arizona who can advise me on setting up a corporation for holding real estate investments?

No. 207 says: (A) In magisterial district court proceedings:***(3) Corporations or similar entities and unincorporated associations may be represented by an attorney at law, by an officer of the corporation, entity, or association, or by an employee or authorized agent of the corporation, entity, or association with personal knowledge of the subject matter of the litigation and written authorization from an officer of the corporation, entity, or association to appear as its representative.I believe this would allow you to represent the LLC in a standard eviction action before the magistrate court in most cases. 4.

[i] 59 OS § 858-301 states, “It shall be unlawful for any person to act as a real estate licensee, or to hold himself or herself out as such, unless the person shall have been licensed to do so under the Oklahoma Real Estate License Code.” 59 OS § 858-102 (11) states, “‘Licensee’ shall include any person who performs any act, acts or transactions set out in the definition of a broker and licensed under the Oklahoma Real Estate License Code.” 59 OS § 858-102 (2) states, “The term ‘real estate broker’ shall include any person, partnership, association or corporation, foreign or domestic, who for a fee, commission or other valuable consideration, or who with the intention or expectation of receiving or collecting a fee, commission or other valuable consideration, lists, sells or offers to sell, buys or offers to buy, exchanges, rents or leases any real estate, or who negotiates or attempts to negotiate any such activity, or solicits listings of places for rent or lease, or solicits for prospective tenants, purchasers or sellers, or who advertises or holds himself out as engaged in such activities.”