Hello, I am seeking advice or creative ideas to move closer to the goal of owning a home in San Diego county without the obvious solution of selling off my small rental portfolio. I am by no means a savvy investor so ...

The 24.9% share is greater than the national average of 13.8%, according to CoworkingMag.The Austin metro had a 261% increase in teleworkers between 2014 and 2023, the report found, which is above the national average of 207%.https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/report-austin-leads-u...

The importance of lowering expenses and increasing efficiency to maximize property income.

Once you have completed the consolidation portion of your 1031 exchange you now own a more expensive (and probably really nice) property that it must be your intent to hold for investment use. 

Montgomery county, and now Frederick are becoming too expensive for it to make sense for us right now.My biggest surprise, that's a good questions.

Here are the numbers:IncomeTotalPartner ContributionsManaging Partners Debt$0.00Partners Deposits$987,459.99Total Contributions$987,459.99Operating IncomeAirbnb Income$50,186.50Square Income (Vehicles or add-ons)$6,741.04Total Operating Income$56,927.54Total Income$1,044,387.53ExpensesPurchase of propertyCost of House-680,000.00Closing Costs-$26,744.44Total Cost of Purchase-706,744.44Set Up ExpensesHouse Improvements & Care taker home addition-116017.03Adding Tiny House-52130.83Furnishings-68403.65Vehicles-43150Set Up Costs and Advertising-2339.53Total Cost of Set Up-282,041.04Operating expensesCare Takers-14535.9Additional Cleaners-1505Cleaning Supplies-2670House Supplies-1340Landscaping-4230.66Utilities (Power & Water)-8204Internet-315Pest control/fumigacion -120Pool cleaning/maintenance-2220Vehicle Gas-552.3Vehicle Maintenance and Repairs-6625.01Welcome Food for Guests-115Property Repairs-4999.64Bank Fees-1208.06Accounting Fees-1085Insurance-955.74Other Expenses-1071.2Total Operating Costs -$51,752.51Total Expenses-$1,040,537.99Net Income$3,849.54Net Operating Income$5,175.03Now 5k for an investment of 970k is not a good investment.  

With your background in lease management and site selection, that could be a natural next step.Regarding STRs, I can understand the hesitation—accurate expense tracking is critical, and not having that data can make evaluating deals frustrating.

I was told that since it’s not “in service” that I won’t be able to deduct my expenses.

Deduct mortgage interest, property taxes, travel, and operational expenses.

Used what I know from wholesaling to come up with the estimations The numbers is used are based on a these assumptions:- Cost to build* (2024) = 150/sqft National average, 141/sqft Tennessee Average (Source: Houzeo  https://www.houzeo.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-a-house-tennessee/#:~:text=The%20average%20cost%20per%20square,idea%20of%20the%20construction%20costs.)- All in Cost = Cost to build * Square foot  - Sales Price = All in Cost + (All in cost * 20%)* Covers contractor and soft cost on either fee based or cost+- Profit = (Sales price - (Sales Price * 7%))* - All in Cost   accounts for agent fees and closing cost- Initial List Price = Sales price + 10%      A buffer to test market absorption- Break Even being All in cost, point where everyone is paid except me. - List price is to test the market absorption at "x" price. 250k land + build.