If it is old, and hasn't been updated in a long time, a couple big repairs can eat up all that cash flow for years. 

So I have to pass these expenses on to the next buyer or let them eat into my profit (which in essence is my architectural fee).I'm wondering how I should structure the business to limit my liability, and show as much "loss" on paper as possible to reduce my tax load.

Roy Gutierrez So how will this person eat if he is 100% on your job?

The fees eat into the profit too much even if you're offering your investors an 8% ROI. 

A short-notice flight, hotel, car rental, etc. and you might eat $1,500 for the trip but it will be well worth it. 

Your stucco contractor needs to eat that cost, he should know better.

The 1.5 % rule uses rents as a rule of thumb, but if your rents are low and you pay utilities, that can eat into your bottom line and isn't reflected in the rule. 

But you WILL have ongoing expenses in addition to taxes and insurance that eat into the rent.  

Another thing I've come to see will eat into the returns of the All Weather portfolio are the tax implications of rebalancing the portfolio every year. 

If "lots" is a dozen nail holes throughout a house I'd just eat it.