no cap gains and they increase what they can buy each time.

Yes, it's a 'safe' investment for you because it's backed by a valuable real estate asset -- {ahem} but how safe would you feel about that if your benefactor didn't make payments and you had to take the house back?

I figured I would buy it for below market value, do most of my own repairs, and then sell after 2 years so i don't have to pay capital gains tax.

The only way to gain that knowledge, is through years of hands on experience.

and i don't regret it at all. sure it's nice to have made a great profit on my first transaction but i viewed the situation as:1) i can continue to rent...2) ...or own a property paying the same amount of rent and expenses while gaining experience.in both instances my cash flow (i'm going to include the income from my job) would have stayed relatively the same---granted i pay about 200 more due to taxes and insurance. but 200 extra a month was not as important to me as it might be for some one else who has a tighter budget. but since i made the leap definitely feel more confident navigating the entire process over again and also learned how to do some rehabbing on my own (tiling, staining, flooring, light plumbing..etc...)I also now have realistic timelines as to when certain jobs can be completed----at one time i thought I could gut and fix my kitchen and two bathrooms by myself in under 2 weeks only working weekends.

Under IRS code Subchapter K of Chapter 1 § 721(a) - No gain or loss shall be recognized to a partnership or to any of its partners in the case of a contribution of property to the partnership in exchange for an interest in the partnership.Could you explain this a little more.

danorton,I'm new to this as well, but I can tell you that John just gave you (and anyone else looking to do any kind of deal--not just RE) some very valuable advice:"Shut up and listen"The best thing you can do when trying to find out someone's motivation is to let them talk.

You might not be able to gain access and the utilities might be turned off.

It should be expected that there are things to learn and that you need to get out there to gain experience.

If I lease purchase a home and pay a lease payment for 2 years and then find a buyer to buy it, do I still get to write off the whole capital gain amount even though I only owned it for an hour if its a double close?