I'm in the Reno Tahoe, NV area and send my clinets to https://sutlaw.com/ they can give you advice on how to set up entities.

Ironically, the offers we had from private entities to purchase the property were approximately $200k less than the final price.Why was this the case?

Since eligibilty is often hyper specific to a particular board, it is essential to get direct validation from that entity prior to even touring a property. 

I'm wanting to connect with an asset protection specialist to ensure that I have legal entities etc. setup correctly and I'm covering all my bases.

Your proof is a warranty deed.A warranty deed is a written legal document that transfers legal and equitable title of real property from one person or entity to another.

No lender is going to qualify a brand new entity with financials alone.

Transferring title to a new entity without the permission of the lender/traunche does, indeed, erode the risk rating of the loan and, thus, the risk rating of the portfolio as a whole potentially causing a credit downgrade.

- gather your thoughts and what is important for you two- go to an business attorney and let him explain you which entity type fits your need- let him draft an operating agreement and see if this is what you like and revise it if necassary- ask an CPA and do a conference call between your attorney and CPA and check if both are on the same page and if bookkeeping can be done with that entity formThis is how I structured my 6 entities with family/friends/partners/limited partners/investors ect. 

I am moving to Xero because it was built with a different outlook in mind and is geared towards my need to track numerous entities. 

For a new investor looking to buy and hold rental property, what legal entity would you recommend?