We're all here to swap stories and soak up knowledge.

I think you may have very well narrowed down my strategy choices down to one of three; the BRRRR method (although this might be too much to start with for a newbie), the live-in flip that you mentioned (probably the most practical as I've been part of many different projects in the construction industry), and a combination of house-hacking/live-in flip (probably the most rewarding with a potential to swap between units as I finish one in order to bring better rental income).

That's what I was trying to get at.Since plumbers don't show their crack for less than $400, I learned quickly how to repair and swap them myself.OP- tank + parts + $400 labor in general.

Glass Block, swapping out for a tempered glass window, or adding the tempered film to the window are all good solutions.

There have been many different Electric panels over the years but for us these are of less concern as they are almost always very accessible and easy to swap out.

I keep a spare set handy to just swap it out. 

The small extra investment of time/money in cleaning everything between stays (even swapping out a shower curtain for example) is worth the positive reviews/referrals you will receive from happy guests!

OTOH: if they simply swapped the numbers incorrectly to their CPA that should be a pretty easy fix.

You can possibly get around it in a few instances, though - for example, if his father is also doing a 1031 exchange using the proceeds from the sale to your friend (there's a holding requirement here, though) or they can prove it wasn't an attempt to avoid taxes by "swapping bases".There are intricacies (and traps) involved when dealing with related party transactions, though, so make sure your friend has a nice, long chat with his CPA about how to plan for this exchange if that is the road they want to go down.

Call it a swap but if you don't want the hassle read below.