Here's what I've learned:Inspections Are Non-Negotiable: Always get a full inspection, but don’t stop there.Plumbing & Sewer: Have the plumbing and sewer systems checked specifically, as these are common problem areas in older homes.Electrical System: If the inspector flags any electrical concerns, bring in an electrician during the inspection phase for a detailed evaluation.

If you don't have that, keep earning, saving, and managing the risk you take by investing in REITs (which is small but risk still exists).If you already have at least $100k to invest, and you're wondering where to start as an OOS investor, I recommend this dataset that we at BiggerPockets put together specifically for people like you and me.https://www.biggerpockets.com/resources/housing-market-data/...It contains information like job growth, population growth, and rent-price ratio for all markets to compare and contrast.

This log should include:•The date of activity•The property worked on•Specific activities performedExamples of activities that typically count include approving tenants, setting lease terms, handling repairs, and other hands-on operational tasks directly related to managing the property.

To save money, management raised the wind and hail insurance deductible from 5 to 10 percent.

Rent control laws are market specific.

Focus on market-specific areas like Hinesville, Richmond Hill, and Savannah.

Maximizing Deductions: You can still claim tax deductions (mileage, repairs, management time, etc.) on both properties as long as they’re legitimately related to rental activity, even if one isn’t in an LLC.

Hello and welcome @Bhakti Patel to BiggerPockets community and specifically to the Chicago real estate network!

We purchased a property in early October and are placing it in service this week (mid November).We had intended to run a cost segregation study and try to accelerate depreciation which we can deduct against our W2 (assuming material participation).However, we have been reading through the IRS guidelines (eg publication 946 on Property Depreciation) and there seems to be the concept of "short year" which would mean that we can only deduct ~1.5/12 of a year's worth of depreciation in 2024.Is this correct or are there any different rules for STRs specifically?

Your specific job requirements appear to be an outlier.