Coming up on the new year and I am going to shop my insurance policies as I have 7 properties plus auto plus umbrella.

For piece of mind just piggyback a good umbrella policy if you don't want to go through the incorporation process.

They are still subject to common animal rules (no barking, on a leash or under owner control outdoors, clean up after them immediately, etc.)

What we did for our first rental is we put it in our name (got better mortgage rate), got an umbrella insurance policy (protection) and opened a seperate bank account in our name to easily track income and expenses.A LLC is a pass through entity, so it flows back through your personal taxes anyways. 

Yeah I feel like an umbrella policy might be my best bet for now.

And again, you may invalidate your umbrella policy (your most important insurance if you have a net worth higher than standard insurance policy limits.) or make getting regular homeowners insurance harder.

Outdoor space:  a.

Hello BP, I’m curious what outdoor cameras self managing investors are using currently.

When I went to see what was wrong, it turns out that she tried having the heat on in one room and the AC on in the other which won't work since there is only one outdoor unit. 

I just use a large umbrella policy to save time, money and hassles.