What I can add is that, excluding the gated communities, the average Lehigh neighborhood is about a C area.

In my first 10 or so deals, I used no money of my own, excluding some very minor bills.I believe the key is gaining the know how, locating others with the capital, and bringing value to the table.

You can exclude gains up to $500k if you're married, $250k if single.

You can only use a handyman for jobs under $500 as I recall....which will exclude tile, drywall, insulation, paint and well pretty much everything.... 

The point was mentioned that you can negotiate a better price by not using an agent, true, but to me REI is a team sport & if I started excluding my normal broker from deals word might get out, especially since I am in a smaller market.  

I now have 727 leads in this search, this is what I did: - 4 counties - Absentee Owned - min. 3 bedrooms - SFR- 50% to 100% equity - $50,000 to $100,000 Last sale price - Exclude Trustees and Corporate - Mailing address complete Did I miss anything??

(That excludes trailers since my wife grew up in one and never wants to repeat the experience)3: Only buy real estate within 30 min driving distance of my home.

So if I am looking at an asset as a 10 year play - I look more at the location, schools and how has this market performed in the past excluding covid and 2008 which were extenuating circumstances.Reality is right now shorter term plays do not work based on numbers and cost of financing - we went through this same thing in 2001-2004ish timeframe where properties would appreciate 2-3% per year and after buying costs and closing costs - you were not making money on assets unless you performed the labor or found a really good deal.this is how real estate "typically" is - which is why everyone always says location location location - because after a decent holding period, you will win.

Since you’re not planning to live in the property as your primary residence for at least two out of the five previous years, you won’t be able to exclude up to $250,000 (if single) or $500,000 (if married) from the gain on the sale of the property.

I could rent the whole house and exclude use of the garage or room over the garage if I so chose to do so.