Be mindful that there are rules that the lenders want you to check off.Furthermore, there are other rules on the tax side where you want to normally be under to get the most tax benefits.The magic number in both instances is '14 days'Lenders want you to stay atleast 14 days to meet the secondary home requirement.The tax accountant normally wants you to stay less than 14 days or 10% of the days it was used as a rental to treat it as a rental and not as a personal residence.Best of luck!

You are generally correct that there is an annual exclusion for gift taxes that generally passes tax-free (of course, in all situations, exceptions apply and you have to meet all requirements to qualify). 

Hi @Byoung,Nice to meet you!

If you rely on travel time to meet 750 hours, you're playing Russian roulette with the IRS.

Install low flow water heads, swap the washer/dryer with High Efficiency models, replace the water heater with a tankless version and lock the temperature at a reasonable level, install smart thermostats that will automatically reduce the heat/cool when it senses no one is home, swap all the lights for LEDs, etc. 

If you pay more, you won't meet your metrics and will probably have negative cashflow and/or equity.You may have to make 10, 20 or even 100 offers to get one accepted at the price that meets your numbers.This is what all investors did BEFORE the Great Real Estate Crash of 2008-2010.

I can provide support of checking in on contractors, staging rental properties, walk potential leads to give you an idea of the property in person or what the area is like, meeting with agents, and drafting scope of work for projects. 

if so, let's set up quick meeting to see if we're right fitif not, i'll take a referral in SDThanks,Marko

Quote from @Carsyn Childress: I have searched Facebook groups, Craigslist, and meet-ups with little to no luck with consistent volume.

Hey @Jason Brown Nice to meet you.