My point is that tax strategies should supplement your primary strategy but should not determine it.

I like your plan of buy/rehab/hold and flipping to supplement.

I live just west of Portland, and I'm looking to get into REI a little more to supplement my retirement as I'm self-employed (General Contractor) and don't have much of a traditional 401k, etc.I started out buying a duplex as my first house back in 2005, which I lived in one side for 7 years and rented out the other.  

I am a banker by profession, and am looking at real estate to supplement my income and eventually turn it into a family business.Thanks!

GSEs offer very attractive terms for multifamily properties nationwide, including various fixed and floating rate loan terms, early rate-lock options, and future supplemental loans.

But my concern is that it will take time to get the business up and going, I don't know the market all too well yet, and I don't have a comfortable reserve of cash to supplement what I'd be getting from a FT job while I get the RE business off the ground (that and we're trying to plan a wedding).Given all of those moving parts, what would you say is the best strategy?

Are you looking to replace income from your day job, supplement current income or save funds for retirement?

This is a decent pdf that walks through the process - it was a supplement to a presentation so not complete but cites the relevant statutes and may help you figure out where this house actually is in the foreclosure processhttp://www.mobar.org/uploadedFiles/Home/Member_Ser...

They get back to you immediately, they are very intelligent and work with a lot of people within real estate (from people who do this as a supplement to their primary income to full-time professionals).

When I bought my first property, I was still working full time so I just used it as supplemental income until I could afford to buy another.