Understanding the ins and outs of this rule is imperative to using it to your advantage.

@Juan Alvarez From a tax perspective, holding the rehabbed property as a rental offers several advantages.

I'm interested ideally in very long-dated contracts to take advantage of appreciation.

What are your advantages and disadvantages to each?

At 21, you have the advantage of time.

So there is no single projected return, no single actual return, no single experience (and it instead is a huge variety).I feel one of the main advantages of passive investments (via syndication/crowdfunding) is that I can hire a manager who has years more experience than I can ever hope to obtain myself.

Don’t forget the extra space in the living area gained by moving everything to the garage, make sure this looks good and maybe take advantage by adding a sleeper couch if you don’t have one already. 

A good agent can not only point out things you might not notice/know to look for in the experience, but also should help lead you to strategic advantages.

Also, there is the issue of the legal ST rental regulations, which can be an advantage compared with the US or not. 

Would that be an example of a "guru" taking advantage of people?