But having those rules on paper was like carrying a big stick—great to wield when needed but mostly a deterrent.

You’ll also want to have them sign a rental agreement that lays out your rules, payment terms, and any liability.

To the professionals it seems like nonsense because a loan is straightforward.

Just avoid self-dealing and follow IRS rules.

Generally larger commercial properties and shopping centers are easier to classify with hard and fast rules, but to the points above the residential areas really move very quickly and have way more nuance than most people care to admit.zip codes are generally way too large for my liking at least in my market to provide any kind of insights other than macro level economics but even then highways or rivers that cut through a zip code can end up with totally different trade areas.we can get pretty granular with cellphone data and with grocery center data to understand the trade areas and their true boundaries, but that kind of data pull is generally only cost effective for investors doing larger scale projects or developments, and honestly we still just end up getting on the ground and feeling it out, so I generally tell people that the money is better spent on a plane ticket and weekend trip in the area you are looking rather than any kind of "trade area" level data studies.and generally B class in 1 area means something different than another. 

Hi Max, a good rule of thumb is to start with your target market/ideal guest.

The rule is based on if it's "within the primary dwelling unit" of the taxpayer or not. 

A break even into a profit, and a profit into a windfall. 3- Capital - I used to state this as access to capital, back when the rules were loser, the regulations less onerous, and information less readily available.

I also saw a blog post by the Financial Samurai that said if he could sell a rental for more than 100x the monthly rent, he should... but I wasn't sure if others liked that as a general rule? 

Asking in the correct forum will get a better response.Read the RULES!