Think outside the box!

We spent close to $150K buying and flipping these rentals and I was shocked to see that our taxes INCREASED by several thousands of dollars even though we made such a major investment and took on substantial debt to buy these houses (in the form of a HELOC and an additional mortgage).Is this typical?

Each of the ">" can expand and many fields that take numbers or check boxes etc etc. 

Your money may be better spent on additional liability insurance, if this is something you are worried about.

Cap rates are very low right now because appreciation has been strong (which drives up prices without corresponding cashflow) and interest rates are down (which increases buying power per $ spent).Going forward, rents will probably climb as the inefficiencies in the market catch up, interest rates climb, and a greater percentage of the population is unable to purchase homes. 

That's it in the back of the box.

Box 1/2/3 in regards to taxes + flipping.Hope this helps!

I started my adult working life in sales at a big box retailer.

I may not have years of experience but I recommend that you do not enter real estate investing until you have spent a few more months studying it.

@Christopher Smith the condo is a place that the family has spent a lot of time at, so there is a lot of sentiment to go with it.