I am a writer, a photographer, and now about to become a real estate investor.I have spent most of my adult life in retail management with a few years in programming, website design, and freelancing.

If one decides to reside in one of the units for 2 years prior to selling will the $500k exclusion take place and gains taxation would only be imposed on a selling price of $600k or higher?

I'm an agent in San Diego as well and work almost exclusively in the investment space, so feel free to reach out with any questions!

Great times.I'm not exclusively looking in Knoxville but it is my current top choice.  

The gain exclusion would be nice but you may subject yourself to market risk.

CAPREIT is interested exclusively in institutional sized multifamily apartment projects (at least 150 units, preferably larger -- under no circumstances would we even look at anything less than 100 units).

I plan to take the cookie cutter approach, having about 4 or 5 engineered plans, a dedicated team of contractors trained and experienced in this kind of construction that I work with exclusively, as well as an engineering team in place to consult with when needed. 

@Keeya WangJones, be aware that the terms "2% rule" and "competitive market" are mutually exclusive!

@Allen Fletcher is right on in his assessment of the actual tax being dependent on past use (actually 500K tax free is the top exclusion if you're married and have lived in the property for 2 out of the last 5 years) and future strategy (depending on your path you could exempt all or part of the tax in a 1031 exchange).Your accountant paints the current picture better than anyone.

@Patrick Liska the furniture is part of the property and therefore covered under damages in the lease and because they are student rentals, parents are co-signing on our rentals so ultimately a responsible adult is held accountable.