But since I only used that as my primary residence for 18 months, due to a change of military stations, would a partial exemption of 500,000 apply in this case and how would that be calculated.

View report*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.

Using a simple mortgage calculator online, I can find my approx. monthly payment for a potential property.

This sounds like a good idea, but all of that matters of course for the ROI calculations.

Maybe there are some things that i should pay more attention to, anything I should consider/calculate upfront which for other investments is not necessary?

Any recommendations for resources (calculators, spreadsheets - I'm a huge data guy), contractors, and any other related professionals in the Pittsburgh area would be so appreciated!

How to calculate on a property if it's good investment for my family and I.

The federal and CA state tax of 1 million cap gain (since it hits you in the same year), using online calculator it showed to be around $396K.   

I’m not 100% sure if I’m making a mistake in my calculations, but each time, the taxes take a surprisingly huge part of the cash flow.Any feedback/real-live experiences will be highly appreciated!

@Grayson GrzybowskiI recommend checking out the BRRRR calculator. https://www.biggerpockets.com/brrrr-calculatorThis will show you the key metrics before and after refinancing a property.