/banking  At some point down the road, I may  move my properties into the entity or set up another one, but for now I'm comfortable with an insurance only liability protection.

(Rhetorical question) Weigh your alternative and get involved in a way that you are most comfortable with.

We plan on investing our own money into these deals as well to show the investors that we are at risk too to make them feel more comfortable with believing in us.

@John Montgomery Congrats on getting close to negotiating your first deal...I would say the most important thing is to "know your objective"...There are a lot of great answers on this thread, but ultimately we are all making "shots in the dark" as to the best option for you because it's our perspective...This is still valuable, but can become very confusing because you don't know each person's perspective...MY Suggestion is to know your goal over the next 3-5 years...I will let you know a little about my perspective...I am a Rehabber and Have Been Buying and Rehabbing over the past 8 years here in Chicago...I've been in your shoes...I wanted to be the Big Shot and rehab deals straight out the gate(Little to No Money & No Experience but a few REI Boot Camps- basically No Experience)...To say I've had a lot of Failures during my 14 years of being involved in studying REI is an Understatement...If I was starting all over again, and my objective is to be able to build a robust REI Biz that can allow me to rehab 6-12 homes a year, wholesale 2-3 properties per month, and build a rental portfolio...I would first focus on getting good at one objective first...Generally most people start out wholesaling because it doesn't require the money or experience rehabbing or landlording requires...I would start with Wholesaling...go find 5-10 very good rehabbers and find out their Criteria for a Great Deal...Commit to building Value for them and ultimately a great relationship.With this you will already have buyers lined up, you know what areas to look for properties in, and you can research public record and see what they are paying for properties on the acquisition(and also ask them, but keep them honest by researching public record)...At this point become the best wholesaler to these rehabbers...you will learn a lot just in this process alone...How to evaluate Comps, Repair Values, Neighborhoods, etc...Which a great wholesaler will know how to do...It will make your deals easier to sell...Ultimately I would see which one of these Rehabber will be open to the idea of partnering/mentoring me on how to get into that arena...They may even allow you to follow the progress of their deals...Every deal has its surprises and over the course of 10-20 deals you will get a real life idea of what those surprises are, and even understand the "reason why" you calculate certain contingencies into deals and also what are the most costly mistakes or repairs to look for and avoid on deals...The value of this Experience will accelerate your learning curve...In my experience one mistake for a beginner can cost you a ton of money and even put you out of the rehab business.There is no way you can learn all the mistakes you must avoid by reading a book or taking a 3-day training program. 

Trina, my property manager, looked them up and they don't exist.The police REFUSED to act or intervene as this 'tenant' had a lease and said the only way to remove him is to file for eviction through the courts which will take 60 days.Trina is getting power and water turned off straight away to make it less comfortable for the guy.

Every person will have different circumstances, different background, different resources available, different comfort level with different strategies, etc.

Ultimately is a balance between what you're comfortable paying to obtain the right person for the job.

As a result, you will run into some situations where they will hold, rehab and then sell at ARV.In this case, place an offer on the house you're comfortable with. 

Most tenants assume 1-months rent for Sec Dep is a given, so some don't even mind losing it; But if 2-months is the limit, that may be enough to motivate a tenant to care more than usual.And finally, become (somewhat) comfortable with the possibility the property will be used or abused at some point. 

The longer I am here, the more comfortable I get with the rent as is.