(things that are provided with little to no effort by the soldier: finding a house on base, making said house payment, automatic bank deposits, medical appointments, no payment for medical treatment, etc...)  

Unless you elect s-corp tax treatment.  

@joseph 70% after repaired Value minus repairs doesn't work for the seller but what might work is a joint venture with a sellerSometimes it's better to talk to the seller directly with the agent and tell them exactly how the real estate investor world works Pencil out a possible solution 70% of ARV minus repairsIf that number is terrible then tell them you would consider doing a joint venture where you would bring in your own money to repair the house and then resell it with the realtor getting a commissionI would bring in a rehabber GC where they could guarantee the repairs on a certain budget and you get private money for that amount of repairsI would charge a fee of 5 to 7% of value for joint venture fee650- 65 costs to sell with commissions and closing costs - 200 in repairs - 32 jv feeSay 350k net to sellerBeats the 291 MAO1 buy w private mortgage no payments for 6 mo2 own it and repair it with private money3 resell it w agent4 pay off note to seller and private money loan@Joseph ChillemiGo Red Sox Nation!

There's alot of bad info here and on a few threads on LinkedIn that are still advocating Seller Financing as the grand solution for getting more than the house is worth and avoiding agent listing fees.My comment above was refering to that there is a hard limit for the seller financing exemption to being licensed AND in my reading the LMLO is a requirement for using the limited exemption.  

Now that you've completed the purchase, it's your responsibility.Hire a professional to assess the damage and come up with a solution.

Many of the mistakes made were avoidable if only the investor had followed some basic solutions prior to committing to the purchase.

That's the solution phase.  

Also reading "the complete stories of Sherlock Holmes" - just a different way of looking at things to help me "SEE" solutions and not just Look for the problems.

Have you found South Carolina's property tax set rates and it's treatment of homes without a homestead exemption to be a hinderance to finding properties that cash flow?

As retirement edges closer we are definitely looking at this as a possible income solution, we just need to manage our finances well so we can do the same thing again, albeit with a conventional or other than VA loan since that's tied up - hopefully with a better class/larger "twin home" type duplex so we can owner occupy for awhile and not be cramped. 10 years with 4 of us in 1000 sq ft has certainly been a lesson in patience!