But it would seem appropriate that a gross sale of $1 mil with the components of $700K actual sale and $300K gift, would still require a reinvestment of $1 mil since the gift is made of value to avoid taxation to the recipient so the gain should stay with the donor.

But one answer is: "IRR"].This from Investopedia: "You can think of Internal Rate of Return as the rate of growth a project is expected to generate"... 

And people are actually using it - for things like international remittances (though you need to liquidate it pretty quick given the volatility). 

Hi Darren,Diane and Michael are correct; under Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code you (as a single individual) can exclude $250,000 of capital gains from your taxes if you have owned and resided in the house as your personal residence for 2 out of the 5 years prior to the date of sale. 

Replacing the vinyl will rarely qualify because I am sure it will be greater than 1) Lesser of 2% of your basis in the property or $10k  for a small taxpayer safe harbor. 2)  a $2500 to qualify for a de minimis safe harbor, if replacing would qualify, usually not being a structural component of a building.  

There is a specific exception in the Internal Revenue Code for rental activities, so self-employment taxes will only apply if you transform the activity into a non-rental activity (by providing substantial non-rental services).

If you are offering nothing to yourself as the sponsor then less motivation to find great deals.Essentially you would be playing with people's hard earned money to try and gain some experience which would likely be bad.Why not intern while in school at a commercial firm that has a fund or is syndicating with a focus on their capital raise department?

Buying single family homes, especially as an international investor, is foolish because of lending, property management and other operational issues.

Having great interns to strengthen our team and our bandwidth3.

My physician uncle, an immigrant who moved to the KY 30 years ago, complains how his med interns/students are leaving KY to go to other parts of the country where there will make less money.