If you are new to renovation, don't let people trick you into thinking things like adding a bedroom is easy or warranted.

I am doing a rehab on a house built in 2001. 

Would you be interested in a house hack type of property?

I have a house in BA being rented out,  to price is a set amount and that's what they shown in disbursement to me, however I got a copy on the current leasing agreement with the tenets and found it that they are charging tenets an additional fee for the appliances I provided,  as well as the pet fee,  both of which they are keeping, and if an appliance breaks or carpets are damaged,  i have to replace them... is this legal?

Ensure that it complies with federal, state, and local housing laws.

There's not any real difference tax-wise from owning the house in an LLC vs owning the property as an individual.In the case of a neutral cash-flowing property, frankly there's no income.

these cities all have housing that is on public Sewer Water and police protection and houses can be bought that are liveable ( not brand new ) for 100k to 200k1.

The pros: - not having to do a major renovation from out of state- easier to get a conventional loan since the house is livable vs. a distressed property (would need to pay cash, do a hard money loan, some other type of financing)- can get a tenant in quicklyThe cons: - you don't know how good the renovation is, could be cosmetic without addressing underlying safety issues (plumbing, electrical, foundation, etc). - a home can pass an inspection but once someone is living in it and putting daily stress on the house (turning faucets on, light switches, turning on heat/AC etc), things can start to malfunction.

I'm interested in working with insurance companies on housing displaced families.

Housing stock in RI is older, look at the lead laws and see what it would take for your property to comply.