Over the past few years, I’ve worked with investors to build portfolios of rental and buy-and-flip properties, focusing on both on- and off-market opportunities.I am currently in the process of moving to Ohio and building a new market, which is why I’m new to BiggerPockets.

I'm an investor-focused agent in Manchester with the Candor Investment Group.

If you’ve been in real estate for a while, you’ve probably heard people talk about Real Estate Professional Status (REPS)— but most investors still don’t fully understand what it means or how powerful it can be.Here’s the simple version:If you qualify for REPS, the IRS allows you to treat your rental income and losses as active instead of passive.That means depreciation, cost segregation, and other real estate losses can actually offset your other income — even W-2 income.For full-time investors or spouses who manage their properties, that can mean tens of thousands of dollars in tax savings every single year.To qualify, you need to:- Must materially participate in their rental activities.- Spend over 750 hours a year in real estate activities.- And more than half of your total working time must be in real estate.It’s not for everyone — and you have to document it properly — but for serious investors, it’s one of the most valuable tax tools out there.Most people think wealth in real estate comes from appreciation and cash flow…But the biggest gains often come from how you use the tax code.Curious — have you or your spouse ever tried to qualify for Real Estate Professional Status?

I don’t just want you to get in but I want you to have staying power.

You’re smart to focus on learning and networking early.

I focus more on long-term strategies such as rent by room, sober living, normal market tenants and Section 8. 

The biggest variable is future rent, if you are guessing a couple hundret bucks conservative no deal will ever work.You are also giving your spreadsheet way to much power.

I’ve been looking to attend (and possibly speak at) more real estate and investor-focused conferences — especially those that cover midterm rentals, corporate housing, or property management trends.Networking and staying on top of industry shifts are a big part of how I grow and help others in this space, but I realized I might be missing out on some great upcoming events.So I figured I’d ask the community:- What real estate conferences, summits, or meetups are you planning to attend soon?

Nice work lining up the HELOC, that’s the hardest part for a lot of people.Even though you are no longer in WI, you can absolutely keep investing there; you just have to be intentional about (1) how cash moves from the HELOC into the WI LLC/deals, (2) how income is sourced/taxed in WI vs where you live now, and (3) keeping clean books as you scale.A real estate focused CPA can guide you through the best structure so you are not overcomplicating the entity/tax side while you grow.

I always focused in solid class B SoCal areas i was familiar with, that has strong demand and solid tenant base.