That way you diversify and enjoy both the the pretax advantage that tax shelters such as 401k plans offer as well as the capital gain treatment that applies to investments made with nonretirement funds. 

In the '90s the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), set up and funded by the US Gov't (ie; the taxpayers) bailed out the bankers who had made the bad loans, the developers who had taken on too risky of ventures and the PMI companies who had backed those risky loans.By mitigating the losses for those parties they saved some people from being civilly sued, prevented some criminal prosescutions and made sure that many of their "friends" got preferential treatment when it came time to buying the real "wholesale" deals.We had looked at a condo development in Houston on the theory that we could get the entire place for about $3K PER UNIT.

@Marc Biedenkapp  from my limited expoeirnce when you buy them you need to set them up on your schedule C as rentals day one.. if you do that you get long term treatment.. if you intention is to buy and flip.. ordinary income

Most of the time if we terminate a lease, it's because of treatment of the home or another lease violation-- not unpaid rent... section 8 would make it a lot more complicated.

Now I'm asking you to make a small donation to support my moustache and the 1 in 2 men that are diagnosed with cancer.

They will expect preferential treatment and if they are bad tenants that makes a horrible situation for you.Now I would recommend buying a duplex, living in one side, and renting the other side to people you don't know.

I could see the treatment holes and it doesn't appear the property was ever treated for termites before.  

Your number one job is to find the Seller's pain.Prescription You show the Seller that your service is the best available treatment, taking all the factors of the Seller's situation into consideration for their pain.

Paint inside & out, carpet, window treatments even modestly done will run  $9-$11 per sg ft.

For high-end rental properties, where do people find window treatments (blinds and curtains) at a reasonable price?