There will be times that someone who barely uses credit, but pays it off in full any month when they do, but also has a modest FICO because of the lack of credit usage and lack of paying interest (SURPRISE!

It is inappropriate commentary not only from an economic perspective (which should really come first), but also from a tax perspective.

I got a call from the city water department regarding high usage in one of my fourplex.

I'd rule out the STR in Van due to 1) price/cashflow 2) unfavorable policies 3) Like you said, its big capital locked up for a small property with limited usage 4) STR is either a TON of upkeep(cleaning, marketing, etc) or a TON of expense related to prop mgmt in an already tight cashflow scenario.  

All of our rooms come with shared usage of the common areas: kitchen, dining, laundry, decks, etc.

Another update to this thread on my strategy and material usage for rental rehabs.

- Have an agent go with you to see the property and check out the foundation, comps, neighborhood, property usage, demographics, etc... - If the property had promise have your contractor take a look and if on the job- If it all makes sense write a contract!

For example, a vacation home that’s rented for 180 days during the year and used by you and family member for 60 days falls into this slot.Personal usage includes use by you, other family members (whether they pay fair market rent or not) or anyone else who pays less than market rent.

Can he evict even though there's no lease agreement in place, just a "gentleman's agreement" on the usage of the $50K?

If you structure your personal usage of the vacation home, you can avoid the vacation home rules and get the full deduction for the depreciation and operational expenses.