Hey Sarah, if the seller has an agent, it’s best to go through them first since they’ll likely get involved anyway.For a property that’s been sitting on the market, approach with strategy.

That's up to your goals and long term strategy.

@Kerry Hermann - the posts by @Michael Ewers and @Samuel Coronado were solid advice (I don't know Nita Cook whom Sam referenced, so that's the only part of his post I can not comment on).I second what Michael said about the market here - it was fantastic from 2017 (when I started) through 2022 - then it really started to crater in 2023 (although we still found some deals), and the bottom completely dropped out in 2024 (found one small commercial deal and one residential flip deal in 2024 - that's it). 

Some people want full immersion into a strategy, and want to accelerate their business and shorten the curve.

Are you adjusting your strategy as rents decline?

I was wondering if there were any builders who have any good strategies on where to buy land when you're looking for spec homes.

With this strategy, we knew exactly how each house was operating and we could intervene or change leadership of the house if necessary to assure operations were going as we expected. 

However, I wouldn't say it is a complete tax-free strategy. 

If transferring the property to an LLC, be mindful of the due-on-sale clause, and note that an LLC itself does not offer tax savings unless electing S-Corp status, which is rare for rentals.To maximize tax benefits, consider cost segregation, bonus depreciation, and short-term rental (STR) strategies, which could allow you to offset W-2 income if structured properly.

Hey @Ian Russell, I'd recommend speaking with @Whitney Nash, she's a fantastic QI and can help you out.