@Corey Kenney I would start by testing a more personal letter against a more generic letter and see which does better.

Maybe best to lean on a tax pro rather than trying to figure it out on your own and risk a major error in conclusions.In your latest comment that I quoted, the W2 hours working for a real estate company that you partially own - those hours will count as "real estate" hours. 100% of your time will be considered "good hours", and you will not need more hours to pass the test. 

Thanks for the clarification, guys.So, on that note (pun intended), how much more capital intensive are commercial notes versus residential notes?

You have a partner that's running all of your numbers and testing all of your assumptions.

Being new to real estate, When you guys started out and were trying to figure out if note investing was something that would be right for you did you have a plan to test the waters or did you just jump in with both feet?

Here's a few reasons why:Travel nurses already go through background checks and drug tests so you know you're getting a reliable tenant.They get paid really well AND get a housing stipend so getting rent paid on time is never a problem.The demand for travel nurses is only increasing with baby boomers retiring, so you'll always have a stream of tenants.For a furnished home (or room) you generally can charge a higher premiumTravel nurses generally work 12 hour shifts and love to sleep as a result... no noise complaints from neighbors.Their contracts are typically 13 weeks. 

So it's worth taking the time and effort to figure out what will appeal to tenants/buyers and look current while withstanding the test of time so it doesn't look dated in a few years. 

Notes seem to be pretty capital intensive due to the cash purchase requirement.

As @Michael Herr noted it's all about the prep work, that being said although it's not "easy" to work with oil base paint would last the longest and stand the test of time and weather conditions.

Costs will be higher initially, but this approach can save you a lot of fees over the life of the plan, and can be much more suitable for time sensitive or transactionally intense investment portfolios.Speak with more than one company of each type and you will learn who really knows what they are doing and provides good service.Best of luck as you learn about this exciting opportunity!