Does anyone know stats on this or have personal experience in this region?

What I take some issue with is the techniques that guru's use to up sell and so on .. and they do nothing to qualify if the person paying them if the program does not work they are now into debt to the eyeballs and so on but then again who are we to say at some point.. think of  Hewlet and Packard they went into 15k worth of debt to start HP in late 40s or early 50s and that was a ton of money then :)

It's important to understand that a person can sue another person, but that doesn't constitute a judgment.

I am looking at a 5 unit building that I want to do a condo conversion on. 4 units would be vacant 1 has a rent controlled tenant in there who does not want to move. I would owner occupy it so I don't know if I have a...

However, I also think that a lot of people who set out to pursue this strategy miss the fact that it is literally a lifetime commitment to deferring taxes, which by definition means not realizing the gains.

IF it was not on an auction site none of the information would be known unless you do your own research. they could say its a 3bed 2 bath home and you go buy and its burned down (seen that before). 100% is on the person bidding at auction.

Hire a company/person that is solely a QI like @Dave Foster they do it every day and will keep you legal and on track. 

I can say my personal experience has been pretty mediocre.

My personal example is a one bedroom condo I’ve held my entire adult life - and this is in a top tier market - Dupont Circle neighborhood in Washington DC.

Quote from @Elizabeth King: I have a property in my personal name that I plan to rent annually.