Are there other considerations that I should look into before I buy and install a mailbox?

As copied and pasted from above-(1) more than one-half of the personal services the taxpayer performs in trades or businesses during the tax year are in real property trades or businesses in which the taxpayer materially participatesThat's how I understand the W-2 problem... it is hard to say you spend more time on real estate than any other activity if you work 2,080 hours.Another consideration is how much you rely on the W-2 income for lifestyle versus rental income.

Are there other factors that should be taken into consideration?

But do not discount your desire to come back to CA.Very helpful, and I will take all these into consideration, so thank you!

That's a good primer for understanding all the key considerations for finding and funding a private money loan to create passive cashflow.

Having owned both SFR’s and MF, I’d say the exact location should be a bigger consideration than the property type.

Check out rental comps for private rooms in your area - you might find that it doesn't make a huge difference, but in my market (Twin Cities) you'll get considerably more.

Hi Ricky,You'll want to take into consideration amount of rehab and location of the project for your Fix-and-Flip loans.

Once you get that tenant that does not pay the rent and you have to keep paying their electricity as you go through the eviction process you will understand that you should always pass the utilities on to put in the tenant's name as much as you can.In the duplex with the dryer state that the rent was set with consideration that that tenant would be paying for all of the electricity for the dryer use, including the use for the other unit's tenant. 

Now as a Banker I understand you will have a shorter pay off but you also have to take into consideration market declines.If the market declines in any way or if your area suddenly gets hit with a higher than normal foreclosure/short sale values can drop.