There was a fair amount of gang activity there which caused quite a bit of trouble for a lot of the developers there initially but once they started hiring a lot of them and getting them off the streets, the resistance has improved a fair amount.

@Chris Seveney  is an active NPN investor he may have a different or more thorough take on this situation. 

With flipping you also pay higher taxes since it's considered active income and with rental property you get a much smaller pay day, but you also pay little to no tax on the gains since it's passive and therefore have a number of tax advantages you can take. 

Not those who just like art, but those who are actively involved in some creative endeavour.

The biggest problem is those that promote the activity that don't even realize their actions are illegal.

Our ultimate goal is to have around $1mil liquidity to be able to purchase our own land, build our own home, and still have a little bit of a buffer, while also having rental properties for our passive income.I know we could fairly quickly get to $1mil buy buying and selling but I wanted to know what you all thought about what a good roadmap might be regarding that (how many properties to buy and rent vs sell, etc).I have a friend who is very active in these forums who originally lived in Los Angeles and his first properties were basically in the ghetto of the middle of the US.Would a good route be to purchase apartments in the ghetto and be a slumlord for a while to launch our empire?

@Khang NguyenWhen you do maintenance/fix things - i.e. a broken cabinet door - or when you clean and paint during turnover, those activities are generally classified as expenses.When you add or renew things to the property such as fixtures (lights, plumbing); a new HVAC system; new roof, new flooring, etc.  

You can also look for active rentals in your area or similar properties based on bedrooms, baths Square footage and amenities to get a good idea of what your house should rent for.

@Jason BocekIf you plan to file your own return - You should look into reading the following form instructionsSchedule E - supplemental income and lossesForm 4562 - Depreciation & AmortizationForm 8582 - Passive Activity Loss LimitationsHowever, you may be better off find a professional who can prepare your returns correctly and provide you tax advice.Your rehab expenses may need to be capitalized if it was paid before the property was livable.You should be entitled to other expenses outside of interest, taxes, insurance(remember paying down loan balance is not a deduction).You should interview a couple accountants here on BP.

He's very active on BiggerPockets and has been a fantastic agent and resource not only for myself, but countless others.