Quote from @Rick Im: Quote from @Ashish Acharya: @Rick Im Inspection fees for unsuccessful deals and mileage for property viewings before acquiring your first rental CANNOT qualify as start-up expenses.

Here are the common exceptions:Relocation for Work: If your job requires you to move a significant distance from your current property (usually over 50 miles), you may qualify for a second FHA loan near your new workplace.Increase in Family Size: If your household has grown, and your current property no longer meets your family’s needs, you may qualify for a second FHA loan to purchase a larger home.Co-Borrower Separation: If you co-signed on an FHA loan and are no longer living in the property (e.g., after a divorce or separation), you may qualify for a second FHA loan for your primary residence.Non-Occupying Co-Borrower: If you were a co-signer but did not occupy the original property, you may qualify for another FHA loan as the primary borrower.Important Note: FHA guidelines typically require you to demonstrate that the current property will not meet your needs or is no longer feasible as your primary residence.2.

Those who get on board earlier are going to be the winners of the future.

(Non QM means it is not qualified with Dodd Frank rules, but their own rules).

If you can convince them a bona fide lender is on board, that's 90% of the battle. 

These expenses can create a paper loss, which may offset other passive income or carry forward to future years.If you qualify for Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) or actively manage a Short-Term Rental (STR), the losses can be applied against your active W-2 or business income, reducing your overall tax liability.

I'm on the Board of Directors of the Rental Owners Association of Lane County (over 1,300+ members representing over 20,000 rental units!). 

The ones I’ve come across are in areas with boarded-up houses throughout the blocks, which I’m not quite ready to invest in as a new investor.

If you intend to occupy this as a primary residence you could "assume" the loan meaning you would personally need to qualify with the existing lender to take on the loan in your own personal name. 3.

@Shelley AustinWhile it sounds great - if they cannot qualify for conventional financing will they be successful and pay you?