I have no debt and am patient and disciplined with my assets...So, I'm open to ideas and connections about how to mix and match real estate buying/investing in those areas with a possible career switch into some kind of real estate W2 income. 

I would like more information about asset protection.

So I don't know where or how it is worded in the agreement forms. http://srcar.org/assets/2016/02/Jan-2016-Meeting-Revised-RLA-Draft.pdf

LLC, in general, will provide you with the asset protection if you follow the state required statue to operate the LLCs.  

It lowers your tax burden, you can allocate assets across other investments and diversify and as @Matt K. is right, historically 8.0% is about what you can expect on a mortgage so getting 5.5-6.0% is historically cheap money.

Are you a value add investor or do you buy stabilized assets?

@Darlynn Bailey - 1 LLC for 1 house is obviously the best asset protection option.Having said that you dont necessarily need a LLC per rental.

I work in healthcare, and as a result it is unwise for me to have any assets under my name due to the risks of a malpractice claim being filed against me.

No, just like we can't capitalize and depreciate increases in value in a rehab beyond what was actually incurred.Both are unrealized gains on the underlying asset which have no current tax effect. 

Most assets in that area are unser "GoSection8" and I need a person..