I am a handyman and I am part of a large group of Handymen across the country and there is always a constant supply of complaints about the "fly by night" contractors who are there to get your first 1/3rd payment for the job then disappear.

For instance, he took out a $10K loan at a supply company for supplies on the house; however, he never paid them a dime (on NET 30 terms) throughout the project.

Rental demand is easy to track down and take a look at craigslist and talk to some management companies to find out supply demand metrics.

When you add in the ocean and southern border, the reality is you've got half the land supply options most other markets have.That's why RE is so expensive here and why it's likely to continue being so. 

While I have kept good records and receipts, I am having a difficult time figuring out what items I'm able to immediately write off as "supplies" and which need to be depreciated.Where I'm running into difficulty is things like second-hand furniture...

While I have kept good records and receipts, I am having a difficult time figuring out what items I'm able to immediately write off as "supplies" and which need to be depreciated.Where I'm running into difficulty is things like second-hand furniture...

I have a W2 job that supplies me with $65K per year, and my current rental unit supplies me with $9K in gross rent per year.

It’s all a function of supply and demand.

I'm actively making deals, but most out this way want too close to Market value as supply is diminishing.   

I would advise my sellers to counter them at 280,000 as they’ve already supplied evidence that they are willing to pay that price.