I have a property that I purchased in LA county that has a ~12,500 sq/ft of flat land (12,500 Sq ft lot) with one existing primary residence (1200 Sq/Ft)I hired a architect to design an ADU (3bed/2ba, 1200 Sq/ft) and Addition (3 bed/2 ba, 1200 sq/ft) to the main home. 

We've done a few deals together in this way and currently hold 10 properties together - with an additional 3-unit closing next week.The basic structure made sense for me to get started - my partner provided the cash injection and I provided the time and effort to find the properties, fix the first couple and/or manage the contractors.

This point of view would require additional research and due diligence to determine what is best you.

I realized they were a scam.Two days later, they informed me that they would disburse the money again, but I would have to pay an additional $810 service fee.

Good points on the template and asking additional questions. 

I am also a disabled veteran at 70%, so I don't get 100% off of property taxes, but I do get a discount, in addition to the benefits of homestead exemption. 

If you open this as a single-member LLC, it gets a little tricky with additional state taxes when sold or if something were to happen to the single member and the property went to a family member.

I agree with you that it would be best to have both the company on the lease in addition to the tenant, we're just having a difficult time figuring out how to do that because of the language on our lease- It just used the word "tenant", so we're not sure how to clarify one party is financially responsible, while the other party will actually be residing there (tenant)-

In addition, being on a hillside in SoCal, it is critical to determine the makeup of the hillside sub-surface conditions as this will make the difference between a 150k foundation and a 500k foundation.

Any investors in the Houston area with experience in building an addition for a home to increase square footage and add value?