If you don't have much equity and the house doesn't cash flow, you are then really banking on appreciation, and that's a gamble in my opinion.

Typically, high-risk trades that are almost akin to gambling fall under the umbrella of speculation, whereas lower-risk investments based on fundamentals and analysis fall into the category of investing.

They also to a 3D rendering of the install in advance with your chosen specifications which is really nice!

This is a bit of a gamble though.

If two is chosen then there is a new tax payer. 

Specifically, if the property could be rented today, without any renovations, at a higher rate but the seller up til now has chosen not to, should they expect to be able to base the sale price on gross potential rents?

I'm quite sure you'll be successful with your chosen path.

If you were in the area or if you have someone that really knows the market in the area you could take that gamble and it may pay off but just as easily it could leave you selling for half of what you purchased it for in 5 years.Now my final disclosure, BEFORE YOU BUY ANYTHING in Port Huron you need to go read the new zoning rules that the local government has passed that no longer allows rentals in certain neighborhoods as well as the landlording regulations that require rental certificates and inspections.I do want to let you know that when I started investing in Port Huron in '09 I had hoped to buy bad houses in the Hospital / College area, fix them up and rent them to stabilize that community.

They've already chosen you for the audit.Here's the paragraph I was thinking about above:A taxpayer, who does most of the work in a rental, meets Test 2 for material participation in Reg.

However, I do have many years under my belt in sales management and I am fortunate enough to have some construction experience, so I believe the two strategies I have chosen may be my best starting point.