Just buying a distressed home, renovating and refinancing it to recoup costs that can be used for future investments, then living in it permanently?  

Doorvest claims that they help identify, purchase, and own rental homes for a littles as 35K and help generate cash flow.At the moment, I'm little skeptical but wanted to give it a try and write each steps here (good or bad) and help the community here. 

In that case I write off the lost rent as cost of doing business, but I prefer that to the expense and hassle of an eviction, which typically ends up costing us more and takes longer, even though Milwaukee is still pretty landlord-friendly.I have also done cash for keys, but typically very conditional. 

In some states it's better to write a full mortgage because the foreclosure timeline is short or because the municipality will not treat the buyer as having equitable title otherwise.

I am going to save your list for future reference.

Having been in the RE market for many years, I've seen and heard some horror stories.

It’s awesome that you’re taking steps toward buying in an area you love and planning for the future—whether it’s as a second home or a long-term investment for your kids, this is a meaningful goal.

I would prefer to pay the capital gains today as based on how we spend money as a country, that capital gains rate most likely is going to be heading up in the future not down.

So even if they allow today, I think you put yourself at risk that they don't allow in the near futures. 

But boy, do we love recording podcasts and writing articles and sounding smart.So, Trump is going to restore 100% bonus depreciation, y'all say?