So I said there's little benefit to me bc I'm paying off the loan the same year and I pay slightly more every month to reach that end goal.

This is one of the benefits of wearing all the hats in the early days, you become clear on exactly what you WANT to be doing with most of your time.

This was before I learned about all the benefits of real estate.

Otherwise, investing with a legal entity does not provide any additional tax benefits. 

Short answer is no, but condos provide ancillary benefits that single-family houses do not.

I have a commercial property with 5 units that is part of three phase shopping center.

Also, it will be a long time before I can actually benefit from not having to deal with the messy wax when replacing them....My main driver for switching away from wax was that there are basically two things that joint comes in contact with (aside from water): poop and wax.  

The benefits of staying in your hometown are knowledge of the market and resources that you probably already have.

Both options seem good but because I'm still in the newbie phase, seeking advice. 

If not, then it seems that every time I buy a property I am acquiring the debt without the benefit of using the income to continue purchasing.