So the Treasury Regulations to the Tax Code define situations in which property "rentals" are not considered real estate income.  

I started investing in Phoenix in my 20s too, and it's been quite the adventure.About your F1 visa situation, while I'm not an attorney or CPA, I had a client a while back in a similar postion.

You are asking about a gross lease as an option,  in your situation even with the very few details provided that would not even be an option in my mind.Yes, hire a broker to help you out.

The last guy stated that his situation changed financially.

If there is any information that I missed, please let me know I can explain our situation further. 

@Rick Albert assuming that in your situation you and your investor are owning/managing these as purely investments and thus holding everything via a partnership operating agreement?  

In this particular situation the rents were guaranteed by a local organization that placed the ex-convicts so that was a nice setup.  

That's a great situation that you're in with your employer sending you out to test these markets over the next 18 months.I am from Pittsburgh and happy to answer any questions you have about the market here.

It’s definitely frustrating to deal with a situation like this.

Hi, I have a situation that I haven’t been able to find on previous forums.