The laws haven't changed since 1997- and your personal home 'tax exemption' may be over the limits, due to years of appreciation in the real estate market.

@Dona CardenasI personally think actually owning physical real estate is the best way to go especially using leverage.  

YatesHey Yates, I personally put all of my investment properties under LLCs.

I just sold a 1981 double wide that the tenant had totally trashed to the 3rd person that looked at it for 10K, and I think I could have gotten 15K. 

Personally, I like the lower monthly payment with a 30 and then have extra expendable cash flow on top.  

I have a GC that has built multiple houses for me personally to live in.

I would personally rather know I have another months rent for the life of the lease.

I tracked that one down and the lender they were impersonating I called and talked to personally they were shocked to say the least..

Sometimes you can file for bankruptcy for the entity and not have to file a personal bankruptcy. 

p16  "Salzano used this money, much of which was traceable to Fund investors, for an array of lavish personal expenses, including erectile dysfunction medications, expensive dinners, extravagant birthday parties, and payments to Individual-4 (Salzano’s wife), Individual-5 (with whom Salzano had a romantic relationship), and Individual-7 (Salzano’s ex-wife), none of whom worked at NRIA in any capacity."