So if someone with a bit bull as a support dog wants to rent our first floor apartment for an extended stay, I would ask them how the bit bull would handle sharing the building, backyard & patio with a cat.

Short term is taxed at ordinary income brackets.

Landscaping done in 2018, and patio doors replacement planned in 2019.

@Jessica RamseyFlips, property held for less than 2 years for the intention of holding out for sale, are taxed as ordinary income.

I would look at getting a bid for a smaller deck or better yet, replacing with a concrete patio.

I know there are opinions cautioning attorneys when getting involved in transactions involving an ordinary consumer on the other side.

Also, just an idea, since you have your hands full now, perhaps consider starting with a passive strategy (aka syndications), and then move to something more active once you have your passive income stream.In terms of HML, I would refrain from it since you're W-2 employee and your HML earnings are taxed as ordinary income (aka at your W-2 rate). 

This would classify him as a builder/dealer and hes going to pay ordinary income on the income from the construction sales. 

No landlord headaches vs holding for appreciation, but wow-the short-term capital gains (ordinary income rate) plpus the self-employment tax b.s. really reduces your profit.

REITs1) act like a mutual fund so liquid2) ordinary income so taxed at your tax rate3) returns are unpredictable4) intangible assetReal Estate1) less liquid (you'd want to hold for at least a year or more)2) returns can be projected based on the Actuals used as an input3) long term hold offers you sometimes losses in the first few years via depreciation deduction and then long term cap gains taxed at a max of 20%4) actual asset