Since you own the LLC / Land Trust, provided the activities you performed to earn material participation hours meet IRS requirements and the STR meets IRS requirements, then you should be able to offset non-passive income (W-2, 1099, etc.) with losses from this STR. ...

Did do the deprecation thing at least last 2 years though  Wife and I FEEL we need to sell in order to use the equity for a down payment in order to stay local.

...talk to an experienced local realtor/broker, etc.* Assess what rehab work needs to be done and assess the potential rehab costs.

Then you do your diligence on the rest; scout the neighborhoods, check PMs on NARPM, go to some local rei meetings.

I am mostly local, using driving for dollars, reverse driving for dollars, and government lists. 

Hi @Peter Schuyler, great to meet you.

@Michael L. typically, a GC will pull a general building permit for the project and then hire subs (foundation, concrete, electrician, etc.) that will pull task specific permits as the local municipality requires.So, the GC will need a builder's license, maybe something even "above" that.

I am working on a 7 family and a 9 family deal, but all of my local lending contacts for commercial loans are quoting me between 7.5% and 8%. 

There are not any local manufacturers. 

@Hector LewisWhat kind of lender did you use and have you tried the local credit union?