For example, do landlords in that neighborhood charge for coin operated laundry, or do they hold pet deposits?

We are operating on the assumption that Lakewood market is pretty matured at this time.All thoughts welcome!

Say I want to buy a property to operate it as a STR (with material participation avg < 7days stay).If I travel to the beach to see some properties I am interested in, am I allowed to deduct the travel, stay, meals as expenses?

It has to do with the LLC Operating Agreement you use.

You materially participate in an activity if you're involved in the operation of the activity on a regular, continuous, and substantial basis.

Companies wanting to set up new operations will not choose high-crime cities.

Rents tend to rise over time, amortization steadily increases equity, incomes rise, so the investor has a lot of “cover” for unfortunate timing or operating “mistakes”.Number 2 - periods like 1932 - 1941 and 2008 - 2013 are much harder on this strategy.  

., while John has a lot more experience than I do, and no real estate investor wants to be a restaurant operator, there are some upsides to Option 1, as I see it.The lower base rent could allow the Option 1 tenant to remain open throughout a recession, while option 2 may decide to close down the sales drop, if rent is too high.But beyond that, are a lot of factors that I would assess:Who is the actual guarantor on each lease?  

One for security deposit and one for operating/rental.

In my case, I just purchased my first out-of-state property and plan to operate it as a STR.