The attorney is not getting back to us I guess he knows he is not getting paid to do the extra diligence.

Based on that estimator, with the current purchase price the property tax would be 3x of what is currently being paid. 

I don't know all the specifics of the deal you're in, but my gut reaction is that if you're taking this risk, you need to get paid, either in the form of interest or a higher price. 

I wouldn't do a rehab on this until the HELOC/credit cards/personal LOC is all paid off and you had around 35k reserves (put it in a HYSA if you want, it's what I do).

Whichever strategy that you choose, run your numbers, and definitely consider all the other benefits of owning real estate i.e. appreciation, loan pay-down, potential housing expense decrease and/or cash flow. 

Our goal was to lower expenses esp going into retirement in an expensive area. 

I bought my primary residence last year, and actually got paid $7,000 at closing for a new construction house!

You will need to know how much is owed to the bank or anyone else on title that needs to get paid. 

@Hannah Potter Here are the things that many CPAs support their clients with:Understanding tax impact of short-term vs. long-term vs. flip before you buyWhich entity structure is best for goals and investment property typeTax and compliance on LLC or S-CorpHow to transfer property out of personal name into LLC (hard to buy 1st through entity)Ways to optimize taxes throughout the yearHow best to set up accounting to track income and expenses (doing this late is a mess)Feedback on property management systems, accounting systems. systems, etcEstimated payments to avoid penaltiesKnowing when to file and getting things in on timeMaybe a few things I missed, but this is the high-level ….. if you can get answers to the above questions on your own, plan, and file your own taxes then you can avoid the expense of a CPA.

These include reporting rental income, allocating expenses between personal and rental use, and navigating new limits on mortgage interest and property tax deductions under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.In places like Hawaii, STRs are subject to additional taxes, emphasizing the importance of understanding the local tax landscape.