@Alec Barnes As the owner of a property management company in Texas, I completely agree that a solid screening process is essential for placing quality tenants.

@Nicholas A. your shotgun approach has a high probability of getting the exact quality you put into it.95%+ of real estate agent, many of them posting they are "investor-friendly", only know how to deal with owner-occupied transactions. 

It often ruins the relationship.

Having the contractor relationship in place to move quickly and provide a high quality renovation at a reasonable price.

Some folks will give you the simple reply that if you can't fill it, your rent is either too high or something else is wrong with your ad.

So someone who lends based on deposits and relationships rather than a broker who would sell your loan.

To avoid reducing your lifetime exemption, you could gift equity incrementally, but this requires proper legal structuring (e.g., fractional ownership transfers).

Northern New Jersey has very little land, therefore the price to buy land is too high unless you somehow get it at a great price.

Have you explored any potential house hack opportunities in NY, or is the price threshold too high to tackle, and thus, you are considering Columbus? 

I’ve built strong relationships with agents, contractors, and other investors in the area, and one of my contacts informed me that the owner was considering selling but hadn’t listed the property yet.