Your mentality goes hand in hand from what I learned in the E-myth book"building a network and a team of professionals to help me (property managers, agents, lenders, mortgage brokers, insurance guys, etc.); and training/teaching them to basically do most of the work for me."

Slab isnt bad and has positives actually. i love inches when changing a window to a door , copper only gets stolen lol i will stick that in permanent mental bank .

'I am agonizing over finding qualified and unbiased counsel on planning'well, it's not going to be on a podcast =)i took a break from W2 world and one of my biggest struggles was health insurance. 

These higher rates need to stick around for longer, for the health of the market and the overall economy.

Unfortunately, in April of 2023 my aging parents' health went in a rough direction (father Alzheimer's/dementia, mom immobility) so I had to "move" back to Dallas, to care for them and also help them with their own bills.  

If it will cause you too much distress to try to collect, then write it off financially and mentally.

I view a lease like I view insurance - I don't have health insurance to solve a $2800 problem; I have it to solve a $280,000 problem.

When you only have 1 property a nonpaying tenant who does significant damage added to the costs to evict can stress people beyond breaking if they aren't mentally and financially prepared to cope. 2.

The ownership and use periods do not need to be consecutive.Exceptions to the Two-Year Rule:If you're selling due to a change in employment, health reasons, or other unforeseen circumstances, you may be eligible for a reduced exclusion.In cases of unforeseen circumstances, the IRS may prorate the exclusion based on the time you spent in the home.In your situation, if you sell the property before meeting the two-year ownership and use requirement, you may not qualify for the full exclusion.

How much mental weight would it be if knew the a/c was soon to go out and with it another 8 month's profit's.