I have a rental property in Park Forest, Illinois & everything has gone up in cost & the taxes are ridiculous, as with many South Suburbs of Chicago.

There is no statutory holding period before you convert an investment property to your primary residence. 

We no longer manage vacation rentals but we use to charge 20%, which was on the lower side. 40% is higher than I ever heard of.

The reality is this is virtually impossible for someone with no background or experience in Note space no capital and lives off shore.

Makes your property more accessible (at least on the surface).Bad: Has a cost which is not used most of the time.

Hi Anne,It all depends on your own goals, if you really believe in the area, have done the work and have come to a conclusion that your money is used best in an asset here, then do it.Theres no reward without any risk.

Depreciation is easy to figure, however it took me a while to get the double entries down in the books -- ie accumulated depreciation, cost basis etc.  

There is a Citizen by Development program that helps you save taxes for new developments but the best bet is to buy an existing property and slightly renovate.If you have never dealt with Caribbean based labourers and you have no patience... then the Caribbean is not for you. 

I know of no reason why anyone who is here legally would not have a social security number.

It is much more challenging to create supply in the Northeast further increasing demand.