The common thought is to not rent to friends or family.

General Contractor - Look for someone experienced in renovating older structures common in Baltimore.

This is one of the last investments that the common man or woman can make and get ahead in life.  

It is common area and I assume you excluded it and would be entitled to be a guest of your son.

Just want to start setting up as if it were. so far i have thought about creating 7 accounts.1) all rental income account 2) account where common utilities and mortgage will be billed3)maintence/capex expenses4)vacancy expense5)management expense (to put the units up for rent)6) property taxes 7)cashflow am i missing anything? 

So, the common person may ask - well how is me funding the rehab myself any more risky for the lender/why would they want to limit leverage?

A common mistake in my area is to ignore Hotel Occupancy Tax.

When I said size doesn't matter as much I meant for STR you don't need massive rooms, larger common areas, etc.If you went MTR you might go further away from RTP and go for higher bedroom count, for less appreciation on average.NOTHING about this post is gospel.

@John BerjIf cash flow is a top priority, factor in HOA fees (common with new builds) and confirm rent comps to ensure the numbers work.

Most of the methods are for advanced investors and not nearly as common or easy as portrayed by YouTube gurus selling courses for a living.