Hi Daniel, condos can be a great low-maintenance option for LTRs, especially for absentee landlords since the HOA handles exterior upkeep.

The rules are designed to prevent related parties from engaging in exchanges that shift high basis property for low basis property, followed by a sale of the low basis property, effectively "cashing out" without recognizing gain.If you sell a property to a related party as part of a 1031 exchange, both you and the related party must hold the exchanged properties for at least two years following the exchange.

I have a lot of colleagues with multis in Philly and all are doing well because of low taxes and high reliability, but it has its challenges.

@John BowensAre you loaning from a pre-tax 401K or did you convert to Roth and then loaning from there?

I find the savings from not needing to add chlorine is instead spent on chlorinators.I would not use salt for an only a spa because the chlorine use is so low.  

Hey Account Closed - I highly suggest  using a renovation loan and house hacking a multi-family if that is possible with your current life circumstances.The 203k and homestyle renovation loans are just amazing products and drastically help you reduce your risk, in my opinion, because you are able to leverage the cost of the entire renovation with such a low down payment loan.We work with a lot of clients who use these products in Chicago, and no matter what, in the long term, they gain great equity.If you aren't able to house hack - the process is essentially the same, but just with more money down with hard money or conventional construction loan.

Our builder is Bill Lowe, who we really like so far.

Also, what are some other low cost amenities that I can add to my STR that will yield a higher ROI?

In what cases can you put down as low as 3%?

When you own a couple of units, the odds of there being unexpected vacancies that overlap each other are usually low, but when you acquire more and more real estate, the odds of tenants moving out around similar times increases.