When I look at the numbers of these properties it seems like a few couple hundred dollars in cash flow and thousands of dollars in fees, repairs, and maintenance? 

The properties, the repairs, the family, the vision… all of it.If that hits you in the chest, this is for YOU.Over the past few years I’ve been constructing a legacy-driven life.

The IRS wants to see that you’re actively directing and managing the business — things like approving budgets, coordinating repairs, analyzing performance, and making operational decisions — not just reviewing reports or responding to occasional updates.So while it’s not impossible, it’s rarely achievable unless you’re very hands-on, even from a distance, and have solid time logs to back it up.If you’re interested, I can share a free REPS tracker that helps you record and organize your hours.

If so, I hope you didn’t make the mistake made by many less than experienced investors and compare the value of a property that you’re purchasing “as is” with no ability to have a professional inspection performed or even see the interior with SFR on MLS that have been repaired, updated, inspected, and maintained.  

For long term rentals I do not generally use month to month except in certain circumstances (example, once I had a property come available and was contacted by an agent for an insurance company who needed to place a family for 8 - 10 months while their fire damaged home was being repaired and were offering well above market value rent). 

I have experience in this type of home – my first house was a 1924 colonial which I took down to the studs, repaired major structural issues, and replaced all the mechanicals while putting it back together.

The renovation improved the home's condition with updated flooring, interior paint, kitchen and bathroom updates, and repairs needed to make the home functional and appealing.

It lets you categorize income/expenses, track payments for mortgages, taxes, insurance, and repairs, and generate reports for year-end tax filing.

You could be asked to perform some intial remodeling to customize or maximize the potential and you "may" also have above average repairs to maintain your property. 

The repairs were mostly repairing drywall, some decking, some flooring.