I am planning to get into the TN real estate market as my first investment and am looking for some information.In particular: Areas to steer clear of, property management fees, typical cosmetic rehab costs, etc.My strategy is to put large down payments on 2 properties (relative to housing prices) to help pay for my living in NY while still gaining appreciation in a growing real estate market.

Investing in a mortgage fund should not have tax implications for your Roth IRA since the investment is passive. 

Once you've gained enough experience, you can transition to more BRRRR projects.

A BP fan favorite and a great way to snowball overtime. 4️⃣ Invest in Syndications or Private Lending:If you’re not ready to own property yourself, you can passively invest in syndications or become a private lender on fix-and-flip projects.

I recommend you go visit a few times to network with local investors or find an investor friendly agent so you can gain local market knowledge, find off market deals and for things such as showings, picture taking or getting accurate comps.

I'm sure that factored in to the government trying to find a way to gain ownership of the land and the only solution appeared to be a land swap. 

Find out through asking the right questions what will help solve any existing problems, that will give the seller a nice monthly Passive Income Stream, etc. 4.

It's crucial to evaluate how the deal performs with the new mortgage:Updated Financials After Refinancing: Market Value: $250,000 Mortgage Amount (80% LTV): $200,000 Equity: $50,000 Interest Rate: 5% (30-Year Amortization) Assuming after 12months the rate will drop from 6% to 5%Monthly Expenses: Mortgage Payment: $1,074 Property Tax: $260 (4% Adjustment from last year) Utilities: $309 (+3% Adjustment) Insurance: $104 (+4% Adjustment) Vacancy: $105 Repairs & Maintenance: $105 (now after 12 months we can assume we have repairs at 5% factor on annual rent) Total Monthly Expenses: $1,957Rent Income after 12 months assuming annual rent increase at 5% : $2,100Cash Flow: $143 per month 😊Year 2 Return on investment $2,951 Principal Paydown year 2 $20,000 Property Appreciation (assuming 8% per year) $1,720 Yearly Cash Flow (this will increase as rents rise) $50,000 Initial Equity Total Gain $74,671 with just $ $22,789 remaining in the deal. 

This is hard work and by no means passive and I don't like it everyday.

If you have lived in it for 2 yrs I would suggest renting it for 2 - 3 years and then selling it to avoid capital gains taxes.