@Andy Madden  I PM'd you, i'd enjoy meeting you.

Who would have thought that when we shook pepper on our food, we were actually shaking on a mold?

Hello Investor Fam,I'm working on a project that involves a winery owner who needs some big assistance.Background:Owner is in a "hand shake" partnership. 35 years ago winemaker shook hands with wealth silent investor to help him get started. 100 acres of land in sale. 10% acres is allocated to silent partner ( only through "word" contract).Owner owns 100% of land (he is on the DEED 100%).

@Jim Madden I am not a CPA and suggest you talk to yours but since you are withdrawing from your IRA I assume you are not actively employed in a job so I would talk to him about the number of hours you spend on your real estate and declaring active rather than passive in the real estate business and that should allow more deductions.

It’s maddening.

But in my cases I grinned at the officers, introduced myself, shook their hands, thanked them for getting out so quickly, and asked them to keep up the good work - saying how much I appreciated them keeping an eye on my house.  

Have you ever closed any deals locally where you saw the property and actually shook hands with the seller?

I literally put my face in my hands and shook my head before I typed this second sentence.

Several days later we shook hands.

I just wasn't finding anything in my price range around here (< 290k, looking for 1-2 months) and so I thought that what I was searching for was unattainable.What you mentioned about your in-laws shook me up a bit.I also thought long and hard about the reality of being a first-time landlord and living an hour away from the property.