other posters have started threads saying they're going to buy STRs for tax savings... and this doesn't make sense to me.  

It has cost many people including myself a lot of unnecessary money and still is because you deal with the tax portion of opening unnecessary LLCs recommended by supposed professionals. 

Quote from @Fred Scott: Sunrise Capital Investors - Mobile Home Park Investment FundI've seen a few posts about them here but none of them actually talks about what the actual annual returns have been.They are advertising heavily for passive tax deductions which is fine but what are the actual returns over a period of (say) five or ten years?

However, these programs typically qualifies borrowers based on their income, such as tax returns.The DSCR would be a good option considering you and your husband are entrepreneurs and the tax returns don't look good on paper.

And of course we're in agreement on consulting a tax pro.

Hey, I’m not an investor, but some unexpected costs to consider are closing costs, agent commissions, and most importantly, taxes.

Despite the equity We also want to take advantage of tax advantages we did stay in the property for 2 years !  

So if you buy a 5 bedroom house and rent the spare 4 bedrooms = you can still sell tax-free under the 121 (you just pay back depreciation) If you buy a duplex and rent 1/2 and live in 1/2.

(c) Do any of you have some specific market considerations I should take into account OR that I should be researching (high taxes, pertinent rent laws, etc.)?

That leaves $400 to cover taxes, maintenance, vacancies, etc.Now, let's pretend ALL your expenses come to $2,600 and you have $400 left over.