I left my job 2 years ago to help me and sister build a online business.

My dad was a contractor, so I've grown up building houses, remodeling, etc.

Since competition is high and inventory is low on Long Island, I recommend BP members try to go direct to seller which is an active form of building an off-market deal list. 

Warning:If you depreciate a property down near zero and then have to sell your property at a loss during a situation of distress...You could end up giving all the proceeds to the bank AND owe the IRS a big chunk of money for recapture.Long-term tax planning with real estate needs to be coupled with risk management and making sure you don't lose any properties.

We are also reviewing a company that can use it to scan bank statements and tax retturns to quickly sort where money is spent and if documents are fraudulent.

The only way to know if your idea is worth doing from a wealth building standpoint is to do the math:  What is the cost to acquire?

For example, in my state PA there is an inheritance tax and many TAX auction properties originate from people passing away and the heir(s) not taking control over the estate and paying those property taxes.

The problem is that we need to be careful with the word "passive" because it has a very specific meaning in the tax law, and it is not intuitive.For example, losses from rental properties are usually passive but not always, there are some exceptions.

Are they going to be able to buy your proudly done flip.3) If you misjudge the market, do you know when to dump it.4) Can you put a spreadsheet together on your purchase costs, carrying costs, rehab costs, closing costs, selling costs, tax costs, contractors that don't show and delay your project etc. etc. etc.5) Is the return worth the risk.

I'd start shopping around for terms and building relationships sooner than later.