The absolute best way to avoid taxes is not earn income.  

And I would love some passive income or at least someone to pay my mortgage until we can pay it off maybe.

If you want private investors, start by asking friends, family, or colleagues in your network who may wish to a passive income opportunity. 

Currently, my strategy is to rent to section 8 tenants for the guaranteed income.

They did not need a US visa, US income, or US credit.

It will take at the very least 200 units to achieve that income goal.

Your cousin should contact the lender to discuss his options.If he rents it out, he must report rental income and expenses (e.g., mortgage interest, taxes, repairs, depreciation) on Schedule E starting when the property is placed in service.

So, make sure YOU understand the copy & paste info below:Recommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

Buy and Hold investing is a great avenue to begin with as most people live their lives off of residual income. 

Michelle Wang,With all due respect, you should make plans to be in another business once you're out of Real Estate Investing (Residential, Income Property).There are Members of our MassRealEstate dot net Association that come crying to me about similar situations as yours i.e.