That said, in larger cities, an STR may only be approved in one part of the city and not another (street specific) depending on proximity to a hotel/resort.Obviously lots of due diligence needed.

However, I'm stumped at the estimate costs/offer part, and to a lesser extent financing as well.On the one hand I kinda need to know how much I'm going to spend on repairing/renovating the property, but on the other the likelihood of a contractor looking at properties with me for free won't happen unless I have a property under contract. 

BP Forum,This question pertains to deducting my home renovations for renting a room and renting the house a year from now. 

The market does not care how much you paid for the property or how much you overspent on the renovation.

I'd like to place extra emphasis on the 45 day time limit - which will be the biggest factor influencing your decision.If you have 285k of equity to play with, you're looking at either buying 1 larger multi-family property or several smaller properties, likely amounting to close to or in excess of $1M worth of property.   

I managed a larger class B apartment building that was newer, but had a boiler and only wall units for A/C.   

Michael Ortega-Omega Elite Construction & Renovations-Not the cheapest, but he does quality work, and very dependable.

My husband and I bought and renovated a condo together.

So many RVs and some larger boats won't fit, which is a BIG market right now. 

House hack only works to be even close to cash flow neutral (live for free) inside the loop if you are renting a significantly larger portion of the home than that you are living in.