@Corey SchneiderWe fund with a combination of Hard Money and Private Money. 

Combined, the Fed and Congress (with 2 Presidents) busted out the printing press and went HAM. $10 Trillion later, inflation took off like starship.

Because of material participation I can deduct that $350k vs other income.Using combined federal and state tax rate of 40% x $350k = $140k in immediate tax savings.

I've been reading on biggerpockets for a while but have rarely posted anything before.

@James Humphrey Class A rentals rarely cashflow for the first 3-5 years.Class B may cashflow within first 1-3 years.Class C should cashflow from day one.Class D - stay away!

All adults who wish to live there must apply and pay app fees (it makes us money, but there is a cost to run background/credit checks too, so I would at least charge something, it also means the person applying is more serious)3x rent combined verifiable income of applicants.

If you provide specific services (called "substantial services", think hotel) then it’s considered a business and reported on Sch C (this is rare for an STR). 

Greenville has a little better population growth and is about 90K people, roughly the size of Rocky Mount and Wilson combined.

sounds like a lot of smaller dollars  IE under 100k investors.. so usually not worth litigating over money wise and then someone who gets over his ski tips .. never intended to end up with all these pissed off and wrong investors but once you Rob Peter to Pay Paul you rarely recover.. 

If you are pitching these models/investments to someone else, including this does make you seem more sophisticated & safer to go with than someone who doesn't, but the reality is they are rarely used to make actual decisions.