I have met very successful investors that take deep dives on NPN commercial notes and immediately go in and have one of their companies appointed as Receiver of the property and collect rent and maintain the building.

Also, in terms of flooring for the storefront what material would be best in terms of money and quality? 

@Sri VoodiAs long as you do none of the work on the property and hire a contractor - that’s one caveat to make sure you are compliant

@Hardy Davis  As long as you've lived in the property for two out of the previous five years, you could qualify for the 121 exclusion.

I am curious to use the hive mind to learn about best practices for revenue management for short-term rentals.One trick I have used is to crash prices for undesirable dates, or dates that would otherwise go un-booked.

The two biggest challenges I hear are not realizing the condition of the property (for example, finding out the property is in a worse condition than it is) and working with contractors (not finishing the job, taking too long, etc).

Hey Colby, as long as it's your primary there is no guideline saying 15% down is needed. 

Do I get to be part of the process, in terms of vetting out potential tenants ?

I bought a house with my ex, and after a few years, we split up (on good terms).

Forum chatter probably accounts for about 80% of my knowledge, courage to take action, and success.