I moved back to Mass to recoup and build a nest egg.

You don’t want a budget firm that will cut corners, but you also need to keep in mind that the management expenses eat away at your earnings.

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

It sucks to eat that cost but its tiny compared to what you paid for the place. 

Living in DFW prior myself I can tell you those taxes are gonna eat your cash flow for breakfast.

Hello from Egg Harbor City!!

Particularly, taxes eating up on average 3-4 months of income every year is getting harder and harder to swallow.  

So this  is like a chicken-egg problem.

AS thats en extra expense that could eat into your investment

The difference of fair market value versus what you pay would likely be considered a gift to you, which may require the filing of a gift tax return, and would eat into their lifetime exclusion depending on the amount of the gift.