California for example taxes, HOA's, Sale prices all seem to eat any cash flow right out of the gate.

All of these things are great for you as a customer, you are protected against all kinds of bad things happening on the jobsite.Plus your finished project will now be legal in the eyes of the City and your Insurance Company.and they pay their taxes.  

A detailed floor plan of the property is also required.TOT (Transient Occupancy Tax)This is what lodging tax is called in California.

No W2, tax returns etc.

Plus taxes and insurance of $20000+ X 10 years= $200000You will need a $1,010,000 loan at 77% loan to value of $1,300,000 to pay them in full.You will need a FICO of 720 and $27000 monthly income assuming you don't have credit cards or car loans... assuming Jumbo loans are qualified similar to how it works today.

I’ve qualified as real estate professional since 2021 and just found a potentially good opportunity to acquire a property in Mexico that would make for either a solid STR and/or eventually our forever home.I’m completely new to acquiring a foreign property- how to finance, what purchase process looks like, how foreign STR is taxed, does real estate professional status matter, etc. 

@John FongCalifornia is generally more cumbersome than other states when it comes to taxes and filings.

.- Our combined after-tax income is $170k annually.- We have no outstanding mortgage debt.Recently, we discussed financing options with a banker at PNC and learned that we might qualify for a HELOC up to $480k, albeit with a relatively high minimum interest rate of 9.31%.

I feel like if I pay 15% bonus taxes, I should be able to write off my car I drive for my business haha. 

Unless you tell your friend to work 100 hours and you work 101 ;) According to prior tax court cases, travel time does NOT count toward material participation time.