There are very few rentals in this area... they have been at 100% occupancy for the last several years. 

Being an investor in several different states, I prefer a national lender so I can always go to one lender to fund all of my deals, no matter where it is. 

The first property you get will have closing costs and need probably several thousand dollars in a "general fund" to fund your advertising, maintenance, unexpected CAPEX, initial vacancy, etc.

Even if you have to sell before the 2-year mark as required by sec 121 rules because of health, work, or some unforeseen circumstances, you might still able to avoid tax.

@Joe Benson I own several properties in the Providence area and have done both, managed myself and used companies.My experience with companies has been mixed.

Hello,Over the past several months I have been working on a condo conversion deal in Point Loma, San Diego.

Feel free to let me know if there is a better venue for this inquiry.I was trying to enter an investment into my BP Profile, but ran into several issues....(1) sometimes I couldn't get to the [Save] button (it was below my screen and the scroll bar would not let me scroll down that far, (2) when I finally figured a way to see the [Save] button, it wouldn't Save.

I have spoke to the homeowner several times and he's willing to do a rent back agreement.

An appraisal would give you a value, but will cost you several hundred dollars. 

@Delshon Chestnut, there are several experienced CPAs who are active participants on ths forum.