It took a little longer to close because he had to post a legal ad for 4 weeks for any potential heirs to come forward.

You don't want to get into legal trouble with your loan.  

I dont pay their large fat check commissions to simply get quotes and contracts, they need to give me knowledge and make me understand legal and coverage consequences.

Chris Mason, the primary adviser for a client's decision to put all their assets into an LLC is their attorney, not their CPA, and if my client, based on recommendations from his or her attorney, decides to structure his or her business in a certain way, I'm going to prepare their tax returns consistently with the tax code and in such a way that reflects the legal reality of their situation, not what a lender or any other service provider wants me to do.That being said, I think it would be wise for attorneys to understand the tax as well as lending ramifications of structuring a client's business in a certain way and should definitely connect with their client's CPA and lender before making recommendations.

I know more about the Ca Building Code and my local zoning ordinances than I ever cared to learn.The unpermitted work isn't likely that big of a deal compared to legally splitting the units.

A "customer" who turned out to be another owner in the building rented the apartment via AirBnB under a false name and after being there more than 30 days gets legal possession of the rental under SF law and cannot be evicted. 

The idea is that you find the business adequately and consistently treat it as a separate entity, and so long as that's true, it provides you limited personal liability.When it comes time to file your taxes, the IRS says "I don't care about any of that legality mumbo jumbo.  

It may be smart from a legal protection standpoint (and you should definitely discuss this with a qualified attorney), but in terms of taxes, your Schedule E will look exactly the same as if you did not set up a single-member LLC excepting costs that are specific to setting up and running the LLC itself as Tom mentioned above.

Curious if you guys would recommend using a service like a Legal Zoom or is it best to work with a local person in my market?

If inspection report does not say anything, can I assume it is not a legal issue and I can just politely acknowledge their problems without committing anything in return?