Their fees and interest rates were high, but they had the least restrictive approval terms from what I gathered.

You must work at least 750 hours per year in a qualified RE business.So most people who have high-earning W-2 jobs outside of real estate won't qualify.But the unique thing about RE pro status is that even if you don’t qualify but your spouse does, you can both file jointly and claim the losses from your RE investments to offset your other active income together.It's an incredibly powerful benefit if you do meet the criteria.

Not everyone will renew, but having great customer service, quick maintenance, good renewal rates, solid communication etc go a long way in retention.

Chicago is a lower appreciation market but with the trends we've been seeing with increased rates of hurricanes on the east coast and fires in the west, I do think long-term we will see some migration to the Midwest.

But even then, seller financing is rarely substantially better than another investment they could make (including trust deed lending, which will often be at a higher rate than seller financing)In my experience, the owners who find owner financing advantageous are at the ends of their careers and are not interested in looking for another investment (other than the usual retirement funding sorts.)

Everyone’s got the same problem: STR oversaturationPrices are high in most markets and if/when you do buy, your competition is fierce thus pushing down nightly rates and occupancy rates in almost every worthwhile marketGood luck fixing that! 

It seems like everyone is preparing for a big boost.The current growth rate seems feverish but I've seen a lot of houses going up to prepare for the influx of population.If you have any questions, I'm available to answer them.

Maybe you planned for interest rates to drop and they didn’t.

Here’s the situation:Purchase Price: $540,000Down Payment: 20%Mortgage Rate: 7.125% (30-year fixed)Monthly Expenses (Mortgage, HOA, Taxes, Insurance): $3,706Realistic Max Rent: $3,000As you can see, I’m currently short $706/month even with max rent.

2. don't use an appreciation rate.