While there are certainly opportunities for finding trades and deals in these areas, they’re often pursued by local, mom-and-pop operations.

Or, better yet, scale faster and retire early.It’s not easy, but it’s simple.

We own and operate a mid size REI and property management company in Marquette Co. (~300 units or so). 

Tip #1 - no such thing as one perfect market There is lots of data on Bigger Pockets and MTR experts that have released rankings of top cities for next year, but remember it's not just about the purchase-- it's also about the operation.

LLCs can protect you from outside attacks that have nothing to do with your real estate operation.  

Working with a bank on a short sale is not as simple as it might seem - most have never seen the property and are looking at spreadsheets alone. 

As an appraiser I’ve appraised a handful of properties recently that are outside of city limits and operating successfully as STR’s that don’t have the same regulations as the city of St Pete.

Really simple process to get a term sheet and no upfront fees except appraisal cost that is paid DIRECTLY to the appraisal company.

That is how I've operated for years, well before the NAR fiasco and as agents, we have always been advised from referring to status quo, standard, typical, etc when it relates to commissions.It continues to amaze me how many buyers/investors believe the agent value is finding them "deals."

While the second LLC does not yet have an EIN, can we temporarily operate using only the bank account of the first LLC (which also holds the property)?