Sharma,Just a few things on the surface the deal looks great in terms of gained equity for the price plus injected costs to renovate/repair.

It was not the 70% rule but I convinced myself the house was in such good shape that the surface rehab would make it a fast flip. 

I'd need to know more information to determine myself if I were assisting you (hypothetically, of course, since we aren't allowed to advertise our services through this medium), but from the surface level it does sound like you do qualify for the 121 exclusion.

Duplexes to hack are a bit scarce in the area and when they do surface the numbers don't seem to work out well, but you may have more luck than I have.

And surfaces that are likely to be touched usually get semigloss or gloss.Gook luck to you!

You can require area rugs upstairs if the hard surface floor is carrying noise.

A super bonus point, which would be expensive, and probably overkill, is to put in the drainage system you see near the footing of the foundation wall (labeled-4" perforated drainpipe).

My average renovation is $20k +That includes: new roof, HVAC, hard surface floors thoughout (NO CARPET), new kitchen & appliances, new bathrooms, landscaping, fenced in backyard, paint inside and out, Sheetrock repairs, exterior rotten wood repairs, new hardware, and more.I think it is important to take care of maintenance issues up front instead of having big ticket maintenance items in the future.Some investors look to do the minimum amount of work necessary - to get the home rented.

There are a ton of properties out there that appear to be great deals on the surface but when you run the numbers they expose their flaws.

(Local cities to Auburn, AL) This is why I started to lean towards short term rentals, but I only started to scratch the surface on all the details behind operating and maintaining STR's.