I think a 25% markup is fair in some cases...or better yet, just make enough profit on the entire job to not bother the client with marking up little HD trips....

Power trip in a forum?

I travel a lot to all my clients back east so I do get out to fine dining on those trips..

Also, real estate requires you to be a good judgement of characters.

Let MD AG go after shady/criminal characters who steal property from elderly, mentally disabled citizens.

cant pull those off with smoke and mirrors :)   and of course my bank that has loaned me about 60 million to build all this thinks I have morals and character as its the cornerstone concept when lending this kind of money on spec builds.. you dont have it you dont get the money.

As you can appreciate with your background your audience creates your experience as an investor.PS I am in camp SF, because I wanted the least amount of effort while I am traveling, which used to be for my corporate job, It's for pleasure and we take 6 trips every year with little to no issues

I live about two hours from Dallas and agree with Kristin about attending meetups—there are far more opportunities in DFW compared to where I am, which is why I make the trip there for events.I’d also suggest finding a good, investor-friendly real estate agent.

In that case, the taxpayer had individuals testify to his character and work in court, which is an unusual scenario and highlights the difficulty of making such a claim.If the TP cannot qualify for REPS, they may still be eligible to claim material participation in the deals, even with less than 5% ownership in some of them.

Renting in these areas with a roommate or two will likely be less expensive than PITI in the 'less fun' suburbs.If you do decide buying when you move down here, I'd take a few trips and spend a week or so down here to help narrow the search.