Hey @Christopher Crooks, the advice I would give you is to spend a ton of time here.

The main exception is if you qualify as a Real Estate Professional (REP) by spending at least 750 hours per year actively participating in real estate activities and meeting other IRS criteria.

In short, inflation is caused by policies and spending (not consumers or businesses).

@Mike FarrIf you are going to spend 100's of thousands of dollars on an investment property it's definitely worth spending a few hundred dollars to make sure the title isn't clouded and you get clear and marketable title at closing.

Regarding taxation, talk to your cpa on how insurance proceeds then the sale of a property after being damaged impacts your cost basis.So for me, spend the $ to demo the property and sell the land.

Or, would my money be better spent someplace down south or by a National Park that would have year round traffic.My goal is to have a place where my family can spend a couple of weeks during the Summer, pad my retirement a bit, and have a place to leave my kids.Thank you in advance for your input.

I view the soft expenses as things that WILL happen and so the money is accounted for when its received even though it isn't spend on a monthly basis much like how taxes and insurance are often escrowed. 5.

Let me guess  you do feel “that guilty”  it’s easier to ignore $500 you didn’t get than $500 you have to spend  According to you she has saved $6-$12k per year every year she’s been there.

I think a lot of times you get what you give - I've been a part of a couple during times where I really just wasn't spending time interacting, making posts, doing the assigned tasks, attending all the calls, etc.

I've always used a mix of tools to track my net worth and spending.