It’s important to keep detailed records from the day it becomes a rental, because it changes how gains are treated if you sell it later.

One friend/Realtor colleague of mine bought a house to flip and the market turned quickly in 2008 just after he bought it, so he rented it out as an LTR for ten years before selling it for a handsome profit years later.

A few years later, my job required me to relocate, and I faced that classic question: do I sell it or rent it out?

My wife and I are starting our property investment journey a little later in life (in our 40s), but we're committed to leaving the rat race and finding that financial freedom.

Tenants often get confused when ownership or management changes, so showing the court order helps avoid skepticism or “I didn’t know who to pay” issues later. 3.

Even if you start by buying in your own name and later transfer ownership to your LLC, the structure will help you stay organized and better prepared for financing future investments.Remember: real estate investing isn’t just about buying properties — it’s about building long-term wealth, creating options, and developing the confidence to manage your own portfolio.

If we re-rent it and sell later, we likely won’t qualify for the exclusion and would be looking at taxes on the gain (or a 1031 at that point).Numbers (rounded):Market: high-demand, expensive area; prices have moved fast historicallyCurrent rent scenario: about break-even to +$1,000/mo (before cap-ex and vacancies); plus mortgage paydownEquity: enough that a sale could fund 3–5 small local rentals in cash in my areaFamily consideration:My wife would like to keep it for our kid to rent/live in someday, but that’s ~10 years away, and it’s possible they may live in another state by then.

Buy it cheaper, make sure everything is good, then sell a year or two later for a bigger percentage of Loan Value.

I have an idea to buy an investment property to live in at first but later convert it to my personal property.

Then a year later I sold it for 100k and did a 1031 exchange to get a bigger house.