To be considered an investor (and possibly get long-term capital gains rates), you’d need to hold the property for over a year as a rental or investment, not actively flip it.Check out the IRS guide on rental real estate and capital gains for more details: IRS Rental Property Tax Guide.You might want to talk to a CPA who specializes in real estate to see if there are any strategies that work for your situation.Good luck on your flip!

And are just ignorant, uninformed talking heads. 

You can fix this by talking to the utility provider about creating "equal billing" or whatever they call it in your area.

Time horizon matters a lot too, talking to a client in their 60's wanting to retire is very different than someone in their 30's looking to build and accumulate wealth. 

Have you talked to any lenders yet to see what terms they’d offer?

Did you talk to your CPA?

Don't talk yourself into a place because of personal use.Buying a $475k condo that brings in 35k in gross rental income will lose a lot of money.

We talk to so many "newbies" that want to fix & replace everything, which is an ERROR! 

I have a good team helping me, I have a good system, I’m confident in my ability to talk to sellers because I’m a real estate agent and just am nervous that I should be trying to reach more people.

Don't disqualify yourself without talking to an expert.