@Vina Merrill,I don't have much intel on Knoxville, but I’m active as an investor, turnkey provider, and builder in Chattanooga.

There is an amount that you can distribute from an IRA account to purchase a personal residence.You then might be able to turn the personal residence into an investment property.Best of luck.

Good morning @Cosmo DePintoHuntsville is an exceptional market where I’ve personally seen investors’ portfolios thrive.

In other words, not resold to the government so the bank had more flexibility on the condition.I look at the original commitment letter and it states "xxx amount will be advanced at closing for the purchase of an investment property, and the remaining balance of the loan to be placed into an escrow account to be disbursed as improvements are made".No points, and only one closing, so I don't have to deal with a short term HML that I have to refinance in under a year.Hope that helps!

Maybe no one is an idiot, maybe they are simply being responsive to incentives.

Here are just some of my notes: 1) Using RentRedi to post my properties did not give me an option to save the lead photo, and this is HUGE because it is the first photo/thumbnail that shows on the listings in Zillow, Realtor.com, etc.

I have been a "TITANIUM CLIENT" for 5+ years (their highest level tier of service), and it has been an absolute NIGHTMARE for the last year or so.

The industry is long overdue for an overhaul.   

We are learning as we go here and I am curious on the approach others have used when going for their first property after getting their HELOC set up alongside an LLC and so forth.

If you want real yield or cashflow, you have to buy in a non-vacation market that is not top of mind for an STR.