I'm 100% commission based income and don't really have a ton of normal operating expenses so buying long term rentals in my pass through LLC and doing modeling cost seg on rentals has done a lot to limit my tax burden. 

-Layout, close spaces or spread out for individual spaces limited privacy? 

Asheville is a great tourist location, but I’m thinking outside of city limits will be the best.

Caution: When you can use the depreciation deduction depends basically on how you handle the Section 469 passive loss limitation stuff. 

TIC's also are limited in quantity of investors to 35  and you might have a few meetings to discuss major repairs and there will inevitably be a capital call every so often because of extraordinary items. 

We already deal with 50 emails or more per month from the ex about any topic imaginable and try hard to limit our interactions and exposure with her.

The downside is it relies on available data, so results can be limited or slightly off in smaller markets, and full features require a paid plan.Mashvisor is a good one to look into as well.

Trusted relationships matter, but limiting yourself to one market could be why you feel stuck.

@Ian Gilligan  a utility cap is something you put on something like your electric to limit it so that if someone exceeds normal use by a lot you charge them.

Many of us on here work with clients across states virtually, so don’t feel limited by zip code.