In addition to buying our first property, we're interested in continuing to invest and collaborate with local real estate professionals and renovations contractor in Fort Worth.

And while my professional growth is important to me, I also balance the demands of a busy family life with my wife and four young kids.Looking forward to more insightful discussions like this. 

Due to the DTI, DSCR loans are welcome.I am also open to any professional meetups or discussing any deals that may help us both.

Hello,I'm Dana Grant.I own a bookkeeping company, DG Bookkeeping LLC with a focus on real estate professionals and construction company owner.

Readers should seek professional advice.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I had the lead paint professionally encapsulated so lead poisoning and litigation related to lead poisoning should not an issue. 

I can see an explicit exception in CA Tax Code § 17561 that says you can not use the qualifications in Section 469(c)(7) (Real estate professional) to render that income as non-passive, but I see no callout for 1.469-1T and, as such - as a non-CPA - I do not (yet) see a reason why we cannot follow the same rules for CA that we do for our federal taxes; e.g., if the business is not a "rental" business per tax code, we count that income as non-passive and offset other income (W2, etc) similarly.Does anybody else have some guidance (or opinions) on this matter?

@Clifford Pereira You can claim Real Estate Professional (REP) status on federal taxes but not in California, as the state does not recognize REP benefits.

I figured DC would be a great area to invest in because it attracts tons of young professionals.