(For a lot of gurus, the education is just a top of funnel entry point for them to then have you find deals for them, invest in their deals, etc)If they are active in real estate themselves, I would ask how much they are making from their RE versus their courses?  

Quote from @Brandon Vukelich:If you buy a vacation rental in Hawaii, then you're tied to that location.

Of course back then we were getting “screwed” with 6-7% rates.

I'm speaking from my experience as I stated at a big four and there's no way I had time for anything else back then.

Evernest said they had to pull a permit from the city, have the stove inspected to make sure it was safe for the repairman then they could look at it.

So, I started with a couple build-to-rent homes, then a couple more, and then felt comfortable to build a mini development.

Then get your plans drawn up and submitted.

He pockets the downpayment to cashout what little cash he puts into the deal and then makes the spread between the two loans.

Imagine making millions of dollars over the course of your career and then having to pay 30-50% every year to uncle sam instead of compounding that cash over time.This is exactly what real estate professionals have learned to mitigate.To reduce their taxable income, they just buy a building every year, do a cost seg, and use depreciation to reduce their tax liability dramatically.Their personal wealth snowball grows much larger and much faster than their W2 counterparts who give most of their money back to the government each year.Following this strategy as a real estate professional is one of best ways to end up with a much larger net worth at the end of your career.

Hey @Mike Nelson, never assume anything about STR rules and regs.Here is the STR rules for Oak Park - https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/oakparkil/latest/oakpa...I would call the city and make sure it is legal for a specific property.Now regarding the famous person angle, sure it can add value to the property or as a STR, but for STR use, I would think you would need it to be in original condition with a lot of the furniture and knick-knacks that were owned by the famous person along with a bunch of photos etc featuring the famous person.If you buy a place that has been totally redone but was owned by someone famous but has no features or things that were theirs, then I don't see it being a draw.