Don’t want to pay taxes on the capital gain.

Some thoughts to consider:If you sell now, you are unlikely to pay capital gains taxes as your first 250k (500k if married and filling jointly) aren't reported.Doing your first rental remotely is undesirable without 1.)

I truly think I only need 4 more houses to hit my goal and then shift from buying to paying them off.I am not sure if I am thinking about this the right way and I am sure there are things I am not thinking about but below are my thoughts:Pros - I can purchase the houses I need to hit my goal faster - With getting homes fasters the depreciation, tax benefits, amortization, appreciation, rent increases all start sooner - Home prices on average should be lower now then if I buy in 4-5 years - I can take better advantage of leverageCons - I have more risk until I pay the properties off - Less upfront cashflow - Longer timeframe to acquire the properties to reach my goalIf anyone has any opinions or advice I'd love to hear it.

Some counties have API as that allow you to access their tax records.

If not, what are property tax sales? 

Do you get to write off all renovations on your taxes?

@Chris Seveney The types of leads I'm targeting are absentee owners, vacant properties, pre-foreclosures, tax delinquencies, and probates. 

You can use it as a downpayment on a property over $450k and use leverage tax free.

That’s all very helpful and thank you for the tips. 

Negotiation tip #47, make it as simple as possible for the other party to accept your terms.