@Jonathan Tang  little more to it in the timber business lest you buy a christmas tree farm..its not like looking in a catalog :)  but either way that was the concept.we made 500k on deals that we put no money into.. all in 90 days.. but that was when the J log  Japanese grade log  was selling for 1200 a MBF  it crashed along with the japanese economy so its not what it was.. but its come back strong on the domestic side with all this building and natural disasters  CA fires  and Houston flood.. although the flood is more a boon to sheetrock companies

There are loads of woodworking resources to help you online with this, but I use two double-sided Japanese wetstones in 1000/4000 and 3000/8000 with a Robert Larson honing guide for this2.

@Russell Brazil Maybe not a fair comparison though because as an agent you’re probably a highly active real estate investor with your finger on the pulse of your local market which you work in daily, whereas someone investing in an S&P index fund is not a professional trader who aims to find ways to beat the market every day.

There's also the HIREI group that meets the first Thursday evening of every month at the Japanese Cultural Center on Beretania Street.

I would be very cautious on the rental property-I am not convinced that rental property will not qualify for the new deduction-borrowing from Hedge Fund land -trader vs investor-it is not defined in the code and as alluded to previously trade or business under 162 goes to case law-in financial services one of the items to determine a trader-which is a better tax position (deductions not subject to AGI 2% limitation)-is regular and continuous activity-lots of trading-turning over portfolio multiple times a yearIn Real Estate World-if someone owns 6 or 7 houses and is always involved-think tenants, busted pipes, collection of rent, evictions when necessary-can you say that does not rise to the level of a trade or business-why is a grocery store any differentI have looked around and I don't see any major commentators saying rental wont qualify unless common ownership (I did see the verbiage in the proposed reg and I think there is a different reason that was put it-something about aggregating rental with non-rental activity)Bottom Line-all I am saying is lets wait and see as comments are submitted to Treasury and not rule anything in or out as far as rental properties are concerned 

Expat from Japan here to study Japanese for a year earning an Associates Degree for a better chance at citizenship in Tokyo5.

Reno seems like a good place to WFH since we have many recreational activities (ski/snowboard/hikes), all the typical shopping/stores (whole foods, trader joes, coscto, 3 big malls) and of course nightlife at the casinos.

Hi @Elliot Kelley,Although I don't have any experience in IC, I do have a bit of experience with duplexes in at least one Iowa college town (and before any assumptions are made, I grew up in CR and went to UofI for a Japanese major, so I was a Hawkeye first!) 

Lastly, if you have a trader's mentality (frequent buying and selling), your strategy should be different than a buy and hold type investor. 

Several of the world's most talented traders, economists and businessmen try to do it and most fail.