However, should you have net rental income that is subject to net investment income tax, then REP status would be helpful to avoid NIIT.Just to be clear, if you have an STR and you materially participate in it, you aren't subject to NIIT. 

Plus if they know you are trying to avoid the Realtor fees, then they will want to avoid them too.

Because it takes "an expert" to explain novation, avoidance of due on sale clauses, ignorance of state foreclosure rescue statues trusts, why you don't need title reports, attorneys or reserves, and don't forget to throw in the Garn–St.

I’ve heard from many (non-experts) that I’d need to stay for at least 5-7 years to avoid taking a significant financial hit, but that feels like a waking nightmare given how much this issue affects me.Financially, renting it out isn’t an easy solution either.

An expensive fix that could've definitely been avoided

It could save you thousands of dollars of expense and time in the long run avoiding testing every two years.

Owner only gave us $2k to work with, so we took care of Health & Safety issues (to avoid lawsuits) and did our best to spread out the rest to make the property look "decent".

We also tell them that we charge $25 per hole for TV mounts, shelves etc I think that $10 up-front investment has reduced the number of issues by probably 80%.Our walls are textured (sand textured in Milwaukee, orange peel textured in the western suburbs - yes, there is an actual dividing line), so we try to avoid the usual palm-sized patch and fill only the hole without making it bigger, so we can get away without texturing.

If you are having a lot of interest and you are trying to avoid multiple showings that take up too much of your time.

Quote from @Konstantinos Lembesis: Hello all,I have been monitoring the Akron market for a few months and I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for neighborhoods to avoid.