I like the idea of sellers doing their own pre-inspection prior to listing and sharing that with potential buyers, and I’ve recommended that to sellers before.

Guests used to be satisfied with the more ordinary, nice, and clean properties.

For example, I think it would be nice to have a 20 year spreadsheet for LTR showing 2 roof purchases at the 10 and 20 year mark (assuming 10 year roof) and then each system listed with its expected respective replacement year to get a picture of potential capex spikes,This may lend to moving replacements expeditures around to balance the outlay of capex dollars over the life of the property.Thoughts?

The main issue that I have is that the tenant has 2 more years left on the lease and in order for me to fix all the mess in the basement I would have to remove tenant. all plumbing, electrical and structural is potentially dangerous.How do I manage repairs if tenant doesn't want to move?

@Brian Hunsaker sure a paid off property netting you ~$10k annually, or ~$15k before depreciation, sounds fine.The potentially "silly" way to reduce your taxes is to leverage out your properties. 

It all comes down to where you balance your personal perception of risks to the potential reward.But, in hindsight, I sort of align with Melanie.  

My Strategy:- Buy with primary goal of renting in the future- Live-in flip for the first 1-2 years to build equity and increase potential rental price Exit Options:- Refinance and rent the property, using equity and savings to buy again, move in, and repeat- Pull equity that built due to small renovations done over 1-2 years and purchase another property w/ intent to rent, staying in this first one- Sell/1031 (thanks to forced appreciation from reno)Will this work regardless of the asset being a townhome or SFH, or am I missing something? 

Received a text from a potential tenant today.  

If you are looking for a challenging investment with the best return potential, I would look at Puerto Rico.

As the barriers to entry for obtaining a short term rental permit on the Oregon Coast or high potential areas of California increase, that should bode well for operators of short term rentals in some of those areas.