It would all depend on your comfort level with the area that the building is in.

My name is Joe Sherman, I have been in the real estate business on a personal level since 1998 when I bought my first home.  

Hit 'em up with your questions - one of the reasons I chose Grand Rapids was the level of support I received from local investors. 

Regarding your question about the 5-year period, I believe you are talking about the built-in-gains (BIG) tax but you may also be talking about Section 351 transfers.The BIG tax allows you to avoid taxation at the highest corporate level on your built in gains when you convert a C Corp to an S Corp as long as you don't sell the property or otherwise recognize those gains within a five year period.

I am looking for more of a fixer upper because I will have assistance with the rehab and it should help me with finding a property more in the $150k to $250k price range I am looking for.  

Kept searching all over upper coastal areas of FL, only reason honing down to CC because of the amount of development happening and by the number new properties coming in the market compared to other places whereas most properties in other towns mostly old.

From a high level, figure out what means retiring to you.

Probably the best ways to get started depending on your cash level is to wholesale or do Fix and Flip.  

The fact is they are the top 5%...they **** on 95% of other people and are pretty well upper class.

The meetings are always full of like-minded investors of all experience levels and it's a very comfortable place to make new contacts no matter how much experience you have.Hope you enjoy the meeting!