Wouldn't make much sense to realize the gains and wait for the possible "dip" to play out. 

My decision for this is based on the knowledge I could gain while earning money at the same time that I would use towards investing.

My goal is to start with earning some passive income for my wife and I.  

It's better to learn what you have until you gain some experience and enough rentals to justify paying for a system.

I have a tax/capital gains/ insurance settlement question:I bought a duplex 3.5 years ago with a conventional mortgage.

I would love to hear some war stories, as any positive feedback, lessons i can gain from others would be truly valuable to my upcoming journey. 

We lived in it from 2009-2015, and have been renting it out the past 2 1/2 years - so we won't have to pay capital gains tax on the sale - since we pass the 2/5 year test and the $500K exclusion test. 

Just got a question about what the capital gains tax rate is on selling investment property is these days?

I’m not urged to sell, but as an investor, realistically, I would sell if I can find a good deal to avoid cap gain tax and better investment properties.

I will be closing on my first deal in two weeks and plan to house hack a duplex in Wichita, Kansas to gain experience as a landlord while living for free.