You can get all that stuff for free on BP, meet ups and Youtube.

It is when the property is available to rent.You do not necessarily need earnings from the property to have deductible expenses (again, available for rent is not always the same date as the lease start).REP status is 750 hours in real estate activities PLUS material participation in the activity(ies).Talk to a CPA or tax pro who knows this stuff.

Make sure you put discount clauses and subordination verbiage in your offer.Use the Installment down payment clause.A Front Porch clause can be used to completely eliminate the down payment requirement.Write in your offer that seller pays all transfer, contributes X-$'s to you at settlement and that you receive all positive escrows if there is a mortgage to be paid off, and the seller agrees to leave stuff in the house or garage - all furniture, the old car in the garage, tools and garden stuff.

I'd also make sure any valuables are safely locked up because some people use viewings to case the house and come back later and steal stuff. 

It's been an exciting, frustrating, wonderful, hair-pulling, magical adventure. ;).

Changing cabinetry after it's installed is generally expensive and looks piecemeal.If you put a dishwasher where the oven is, you'd have to pay a plumber to run a line back over to the sink and it will cut through that corner cabinet Basically, if you're moving stuff around, it is a big deal. 

A lot of people don’t realize this, but in addition to real estate agents selling stuff, they are also being sold, every brokerage, every title company, even lenders, have courses on literally scripts, how to build out your social media, how to find fsbo listings etc, truth is none of these are effective, pretty much the only way to be a successful agent is either ton of ad spend or the hard work of meeting people in person through events meetups etc, but brokerages make money by head count, even title and lenders are happy if you close a few deals a year with them, so they sell this stuff to agents who than use those scripts on you, it’s a whole prymond scheme lol

It also I think enhances our reputation with our buyers to know how seriously we take the little stuff.

I have a letter, tweak it a little each mailing, print letters and envelopes, hand sign every one of them, fold, stuff, and stamp all myself.It's a numbers game and takes a while to play before you get results... unless you hit an owner at just the right time, that is.Some people alternate between postcards and letters.

@Kobe McDanielAirDNA offers some free stuff, for sure.