It's a short window with a lot of moving parts. 

When I did live-in flips the first things I did were roof, HVAC, windows and hardwood floors. 

Couldn’t agree more with this, especially for anyone running rentals in cold-weather or slow-season markets.A lot of newer landlords forget that pricing is a speed lever, not a bragging right.

Even then, it’s easy to lose it without realizing it (small raise, bonus, spouse’s income, etc.).The tricky part is that it feels like a loophole, but it’s really just a narrow window.

When the HML loan comes due, profits sail out the window if you are still working on it or the market has changed.Having a REALISTIC timeline and then add in grace to take care of unexpected issues which almost always come up can avoid those expensive lessons.

If Amy bought in person, at the county, she will need to contact the county during a window that is 30 days to 5 days before the 2026 auction and tell them she wants to buy the 2025 lien coming up for sale in the 2026 auction.Amy decides not to exercise her right of first refusal, or misses the deadline, or something.Mark’s 2025 lien goes through the 2026 auction and Sally buys it at 10% interest on a $1,000 tax lien.On that date, if Mark redeemed from Amy’s 2024 lien, he would owe Amy $1,000 plus one year of interest at 6%, or $1,060.That $1,060 will be added to the $1,000 Sally owes for buying the 2025 lien.

For example, we couldn’t replace the windows with anything other than wood frame windows??

The problem is I usually end up forgetting to send important documentation until the last minute (like sending new tenants a list of what utilities to turn on, or a move-out checklist) and often end up having to manually print out a lot of paperwork and bring it along with me to appointments.

The best returns historically have come from places that didn’t chase mass tourism but instead grew deliberately with eco lodging, seasonal cabins, guide based recreation, and second home buyers who want privacy and access over nightlife.For certain investors and operators, especially those comfortable working with rural communities rather than against them, Mackay looks less like a dead end and more like a place where the fundamentals are intact and the price still reflects yesterday’s assumptions.That is exactly the window I am interested in

One thing that saved me headaches: check the actual booking windows, not just average rates.