I would love to hear from any and all of you about first steps - even the best way to structure the entity - to "birddogging".My name is Carla and I am in the DC area.  

These are GREAT sources of information.I'd recommend getting a property or two before you dive too deeply into things like business structure or insurance beyond a "Landlord's Policy", and that requires a property first.  

When you structured the all cash deal, close in 10 days,   I'm looking to throw out an offer on a HUD home as well and was curious if you put any contingencies in the offer at all or was it simply cash AS IS...   

Structure the rest of the responsibility, equity, etc. how you choose.Just keep in mind, a commercial loan on a residential property will not be nearly as good of terms as a standard residential loan, so make sure your property is a winner.

What are the pros and cons of using this type of legal structure to encompass a few properties and what advice might one give before considering this an option?

There are some "e-REIT" structures in the industry that seem to be pretty popular of late.  

If you do not want to physically look at a property hire someone like a freelance photographer on task rabbit or craigslist or go to http://www.wegolook.com. 

Has there been extensive physical improvements such as a total rehabilitation of the structure?

The entity structure stands on its own and shields your personal assets against litigation.

Currently on workers comp and while I am physically unable to work, have been using as many tools and resources I can here on BP.