Lower purchase prices, steady rental demand, and simpler deal structures make it easier to learn without taking on outsized risk.

That structure usually handles all the flipping activity for you and your brothers.For rentals later, keep them separate.

You may need to structure the lease differently than renting by the room if you will need the rental income to qualify.

That mindset feels especially important right now, with underwriting and operations doing a lot more of the heavy lifting than they did a few years ago.I’m based in the Midwest and spend a lot of time thinking about how deals actually hold up post-close, especially around debt structure and operational assumptions.

The key thing with what you're describing isn't just rent payments online — it’s structured and trackable tenant communication + maintenance + accounting, all tied to rent workflows.

This is where having someone run the full picture matters.Looking ahead, it would also be worth reviewing how your other income and real estate activities are structured from an entity and tax standpoint.

Whatever that answer is should drive the structure you choose now.

I recently worked with a California homeowner who completed a 1031 exchange into two long-term rental properties in the Grand Rapids, MI area.The goal was to reposition equity from a higher-cost market into Midwest rentals with more stable cash flow, while coordinating both acquisitions and financing remotely.We focused on rent-ready properties rather than heavy rehabs, and structured the purchases together to keep timelines aligned and reduce execution risk.Curious what others are seeing right now in Grand Rapids in terms of pricing, rent-to-value ratios, or investor demand compared to prior years.

You’ll also want to let your CPA know, since how you treat the transfer (as a sale vs. a disregarded transfer) can vary depending on how the LLCs are structured (single-member, disregarded, partnership, etc.).You did the right thing by moving it into the holding LLC once you decided to keep it — that’s a good habit for scaling later.

Note without cost seg, the depreciation is only 3.7% (residential) of the depreciable value (typically structure value).