let's get some fact's involved to framework context to all this. 

TJ gave you a great framework. 

The biggest thing I notice is that many investors have vision but do not always have clear frameworks for:✅ Evaluating risk and return✅ Market and submarket selection-so important✅ Underwriting cash flow and cap rates✅ Debt strategy and refinance timing✅ Building deal flow systems✅ Scaling beyond a few propertiesI am here to add value, not sell.

Mortgage lending is by far the best way for you to learn the actual framework of the business.

But hearing your process — getting an estoppel signed, verifying rent payments, and checking for code violations — gives me a clear framework to follow.I hadn’t thought about asking the seller to have the tenants out before closing or doing cash-for-keys if things don’t look good, but that’s a great backup plan.

If I were in your shoes, I’d treat that $50K signing bonus as your seed capital, not something to “spend” but to leverage smartly.Here’s a framework I’d consider:Keep your VA loan for the house hack — 0% down, low interest, and no PMI means your cash stays liquid.Use part of the bonus for reserves — 6–12 months of expenses (both personal + property).

If you’d like, I can share how we handle ARV analysis down here to give you a framework you can apply in your own market too.Best of luck!

I think my next step is to get a lawyer to help create a framework for this, but any insight from your experiences would be helpful. 

Once they have a framework, they free up a huge amount of time so you can focus on strategy and scaling.If you’re running rentals in the Southeast, a VA can easily plug into your property management workflow as long as you give them access to your software (Buildium, AppFolio, RentManager, etc.).Happy to share more about how I structure training and oversight if that’s helpful.

On March 4th 2025 in President Trump's address to congress, he stated bonus depreciation will be coming back to 100% (Source) (Source 2), and Trump’s new TCJA budget framework was just passed by the Senate on April 5th.