It was strategy, patience, and knowing how to find and execute the right deals.

And everything is a trade between time and money.  

Iam also seeking partners and like minded individuals with whom I can execute on first deal in first half of 2025.

Although it is possible to do everything 100% remote, most people I know who are self managing do come on site for a few days or weeks to meet and sort of interview the team they are building.You will need trusted cleaners, handymen, and also good recs for trades i.e. roof, plumbing, HVAC, etc.If you need home setup in most markets there are designers who will handle the whole set up for you, and I would want to interview them as well.  

I do engagement marketing in a trades focused field lending me to having very good relationships with tradespeople whom I consider friends- and I trust thoroughly.

Also find a good lender that is well versed in STR/MTR loans to make sure you qualify for financing (if you need it) and that they can execute the loan smoothly

You can easily tag each transaction using categories that synch to your Schedule E for tax time.

Learn the trade at your door step and max.

Otherwise, it’s treated as a partnership requiring Form 1065.Get an EIN (Employer Identification Number) from the IRS (free) for tax and banking purposes.Separate personal and business finances by opening an LLC bank account and keeping rental income/expenses distinct.Consider an operating agreement, even if not required by state law, to define ownership and responsibilities.Liability protection: An LLC helps shield personal assets, but you may still need landlord insurance and an umbrella policy to cover lawsuits and unexpected claims.Tax strategy: Rental income typically passes through to your personal return (Schedule E).

Generally larger commercial properties and shopping centers are easier to classify with hard and fast rules, but to the points above the residential areas really move very quickly and have way more nuance than most people care to admit.zip codes are generally way too large for my liking at least in my market to provide any kind of insights other than macro level economics but even then highways or rivers that cut through a zip code can end up with totally different trade areas.we can get pretty granular with cellphone data and with grocery center data to understand the trade areas and their true boundaries, but that kind of data pull is generally only cost effective for investors doing larger scale projects or developments, and honestly we still just end up getting on the ground and feeling it out, so I generally tell people that the money is better spent on a plane ticket and weekend trip in the area you are looking rather than any kind of "trade area" level data studies.and generally B class in 1 area means something different than another.