We have a few already rented, profitable, and cash flowing homes with professional management and updates complete.

Most living paycheck by paycheck are doing that because of a mindset- a mindset they'd have if they were committed to a regular corporate job.

It's the small, locally operated banks and credit unions that have the ability to make decisions in-house, they don't have to conform to a set of standards written by someone at a corporate office. 

Employment growth, Corporate expansion, Job diversity and wage growth will be several factors that will impact the direction of rents.  

Wondering the best way to structure a corporation with my friend.  

Even to put in the market for sale we need to update the kitchen and baths and floors.

The key is understanding how it works in terms of it's structure...Corporation -> Workspaces -> Apps -> Items -> FieldsI will say that while Podio itself is great, you really need to integrate GlobiFlow so you can create automations to help control the flow of your data and create tasks to run your business on.  

Goodbye Corporate Job ...

NEVER EVER hold real estate long term in an S-corp or C-corp.You will most likely want to hold that rental in a partnership between the two of you.For an accountant do not feel like you need to use someone local.

I have also been in the field doing building inspections and updating assessors property record cards.