Investment Info:Townhouse buy & hold investment in Jacksonville.

If they buy something for your property and you pay them back, it’s just like you bought it yourself—so you can count it as an expense in your bookkeeping.If they don’t get reimbursed, then technically it’s a gift/donation, and you can’t deduct it as an expense.

You have to be willing to sell your properties and access the equity to buy up. 

So, the chances of someone trying to find the TRUE below market deal in their “spare time” is not great.  40 years ago you could.

Investment Info:Large multi-family (5+ units) buy & hold investment.

I’ve lived here my whole life and worked hard to buy a house in my parents' neighborhood, which is the most sought-after area in the city.

Great opportunities to buy single family house and rent out the bedrooms.  

I was thinking about buying the land (maybe it is 20-30k for the .25 acre lot), finding a builder in the area, and seeing if I could build a ~1,250 sq ft 3/2 single family house and see if I could make the math work. 

Watching the housing market you want to buy in and knowing the areas you want to buy and having the data to give you confidence to make a quick offer will get you a solid deal.

Just because other people might be getting away with it for now doesn't mean they couldn't crack down on you after you buy a property their.