@Jenni LeeCongrats again on taking steps toward your first rental property — that’s a major milestone!

The area the OP is referring to is actually one of the worst areas to buy for tax purposes because the majority of the home value is in the land, which can't be depreciated.That's not to say it isn't helpful in making their decision, but if taxes were priority #1 they would be buying in an area where the house vs. land value is more slanted to the home, the opposite of 30A.The most likely thing is that they are very wealthy people buying them as true vacation homes, and the rents merely subsidize the mortgage when they're not using the home themselves.

Quote from @Gustavo Delgado: Educating tenants on the home is major!

So, if you fail to apply the correct assumptions to a property, your expectations won’t be met and it may even be a financial disaster.We use the following to rank Property Classes, in order of importance:Property Tenant Pool: closely linked to location, but not always.Property Location: closely linked to tenant pool, but not always.Property Condition & Amenities: it’s important to, “Maintain to the Neighborhood.”Key metrics for each Property Class:Class A Properties:Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores 680+, no convictions/evictions in last 7 years.

Also, some jurisdictions reassess on sale, others don’t unless major improvements are done so you'd want to check with your county's tax assessor’s office before making moves.Lastly, keep in mind the legal and loan implications of transferring to an LLC  especially if there’s a mortgage involved due-on-sale clause risk.Hope this helps, anyone else here tried this strategy or challenged their tax assessment?

So, if you fail to apply the correct assumptions to a property, your expectations won’t be met and it may even be a financial disaster.We use the following to rank Property Classes, in order of importance:Property Tenant Pool: closely linked to location, but not always.Property Location: closely linked to tenant pool, but not always.Property Condition & Amenities: it’s important to, “Maintain to the Neighborhood.”Key metrics for each Property Class:Class A Properties:Tenant Pool: Majority of FICO scores 680+, no convictions/evictions in last 7 years.

We currently have 3 properties (8 units) that have all been value add, and I did the majority of the work on them.

But now we’re facing major structural defects, and after contacting the city, I found that the flipper made significant changes without permits.

The pricing is outdated, but it will give you a general understanding of how to estimate the major repair categories.Otherwise, this question get's asked ALOT, so I have created boilerplate list of the process of how you can learn to estimate costs. 

With the vast majority of agency agreements, you would have to be the agent regardless of where the buyer comes from.