Yes you have a perspective that is awesome but your mom has just as valuable perspective to share .

You could also look into getting your real estate license as access to MLS is really valuable.  

I find picking up a few NOLO books and reading through Bigger Pockets about landlording/tenant rights and laws is most valuable.

I was thinking it would be valuable some day if not now, i might want to get into real estate and give up my day job someday.

I promptly thanked you for that valuable correction and merely pointed out that the expense reporting requirement you cited is limited to instances where the tax payer is seeking the "Earned Income Credit".   

This will be the most valuable meetup we’ve ever had by a long shot.

I'm not looking to waste anyone's time, but this would be super valuable to learn from. 

We really appreciate all the time members take to respond with valuable information, so THANK YOU! 

Hopefully, you learned a valuable lesson from this experience and it is good it happened when you are just starting out.

@Paul Smythe I think the additional beam and rail on each window side would make the porch seem more valuable, like a sitting space.