Since the properties are in New York you have a few extra steps you need to do to keep all of your funds out of NYs hands at closing.Here's an interesting BP thread on the South Carolina property tax issue you mentioned. https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/725/topics/604427-south.... 

@Basit Siddiqi@Joaquin Camarasa@Bruce LynnA few observations/opinions on the topics discussed from a resident of the 51th state of the US (Canada - LOL) and investing in Spain:1.

The thread addresses a different topic, the Real Estate Professional status, but the same principle applies to the hours in both contexts.

We all know 'housing affordability' is one of the hottest political topics as of late but I'm not seeing any commitments to increase inventory. 

I know this is a differing topic on the forums, and online in general, but having the legal background/education and knowing estate planning concepts you'll realize it shouldn't be.  

I imagine a lot of the reasons will overlap with the previous topic.  

However, you forgot/didn't mention the Costa del Sol, which, from an international real estate point of view (the topic here), is what matters.

On this new topic, it sounds like you're not able to afford a diversified portfolio without taking on debt.

I know there has been some other forum posts on this topic, but I was hoping to note my circumstances here. 

I have not spoken to a CPA yet and am just scratching the surface on this topic.