Do you rely solely on the nurse’s contract letter and income, or verify the spouse’s income/employment as well?

In most cases, the property manager ends up being the one truly running day-to-day operations, which makes it hard for the IRS to see you as “materially participating.”To meet REP requirements, two things have to happen:-You (or your wife) need to spend more than 750 hours a year on real estate activities, and-Those hours have to make up more than half of total working time for the year.The challenge is proving that level of involvement when a property manager is already handling leasing, maintenance, and tenant issues.

Hi @Andy Gonzales, Many investors are shifting from flips to long-term rentals to focus on steady cash flow instead of relying on quick appreciation.

Do not rely on it for legal advice.

Feeling your way through is totally normal; every first investment has a learning curve.You probably already know this, but one thing many first-time duplex owners miss is how home office rules can apply if you manage the property yourself.

I just worry if something happens late at night and I need to act fast, I don't want to fully rely on the first google search result.

Today they demand a TOTAL fee be produced with no “breakout”, next year they’ll say having a “total” fee is not transparent and demand “breakout” of all fees.  

Totally!

If the property cash flows even with conservative numbers (vacancy, repairs, reserves), it might make sense to move forward.If it’s tight and you’d be relying on room rents to stay high, it’s better to hold off, pay down your car, and work on your financing first.

Unless you have a lot of assets and a large operation three CA LLCs and a Wyoming LLC seems like total overkill.