@Kenneth Cheston: 3 years later ... what did you wind up doing about the basement?

And just having thought it out before greatly reduces potential of later hostilities "if". 

It’s best to switch to a more neutral name now to avoid potential issues later.

I would do your purchase & rehab costs in a hard money loan unless you totally plan to repay your heloc from your income and do not plan on doing a refinance later.

I asked the onboarding guide a question that she did not understand, but then later that evening we figured out an answer to it on our own.

Akron is not LL friendly, they were the first in NE Ohio to pass a rental registration ordinance (in the 90s), in 2021 added source of income as a protected class - so you can no longer rule out S8 applicants, and passed STR registration last October (and nearly a year later still haven't been able to enact anything).  

Check for cap ex coming, mechanicals, and smart repairs to do now that will save you later.

A lot of people realize later that they traded a steady, easy job with the weekends off for an unpredictable, annoying job that is 24/7.Remember that you aren't chasing financial freedom; you are chasing time freedom.

Converting the entire property to a rental later allows full deductions but eliminates primary residence tax benefits, potentially increasing capital gains taxes on sale.

I figured later after I found out what the low bid was, that whoever got it lost an easy $100k.