Any construct that necessitates using a portfolio lender is automatically too expensive in many cases.

The condition necessitating the expenditure was the normal wear of M's roof.

@Allen Lopez on the one hand you are upset that the landlord didn’t take care of the roof leak earlier which sounds like it may have necessitated a move 6 months ago.

I do not want to wait until I have 20k in reserves which could take years in your opinion is this an absolute necessitate? 

Buying in the name of an LLC could necessitate using a commercial loan - much more expensive. 

While this means accessing the wall cavities to install insulation, which often necessitates removal of the old lath-n-plaster, we do make efforts to preserve the mouldings and trim as it is integral to the ambiance of the house - tenants looking for flats in Victorian or Second Empire buildings are expecting the ornate.We also try to strike a balance between the compartmentalised layout of these old buildings and today's trend/desire for "open concept".

One deal probably isn't enough to necessitate an LLC unless it's a large commercial holding. 

I know this isn’t feasible for everyone but he’s ultimately going to be doing the work and he can pick up on any major red flags right away necessitating the end of the process.

Unfortunately, the compromise limited STRs to 100 days per year which is too few to make the STR a viable option (the costs of the Del Mar properties would necessitate too high STR rent if only rented 100 days). 

The tenant has health issues that (she claims) necessitate her relocating to a different part of the country.