I'm 25 and live in the Washington DC metro area, and work in financial services.I have done really well investing in the markets and have been trying to save as much as i can (while still enjoying life to the fullest), and have created a nice little nest egg to start my journey in real estate investing.The reason i am starting this thread, is because after living and renting in the DC metro area for 3 years here, i just do not believe the market here is attractive for buying house hacking or renting properties. 

I simply zero it out and hide the cells.7.) 

My tenants have my cell phone number. 

@Skye Anderson, Most of the electric meters today are smart meters, they are controlled by a cell signal to report usage, turned off and on by the power company.

I’ve got 10 single family properties in my portfolio, and I’m dabbling with the idea of a small apartment, but if I pursue that, it would be a significant portion of my net worth that could potentially go south, and I don’t want most of my eggs in one basket.

My wife and I have made preliminary plans in 8 months (8 months because we will have a sufficient "nest egg" saved up) to make the jump from a W-2 income to 1099.

I heard from one of my buddies who used to work for Analog Devices that there are new systems that use cell towers instead of wifi so work even if there is a power outage - that would've come in handy for me when the power went out for our whole block and no one realized it until the next morning. 

I bet you their cable, cell phones etc are on, electric is on, everyone getting paid but you. 

Supplies, cell phone etc $3kHome office $2k.His 20% deduction is $12k (20% of what is left)His actual tax savings are maybe $4k.

Then you may find better returns in multiple properties that are suited better as rentals or multifam.500K+ sitting in a home is alot of idle equity, also many eggs in one basket.