Rewey: Your Comment: "the ultimate solution is to pay it off if it gets called due."

Hi folks, As the topic states I'm looking to learn everything I can about New York City nd its real-estate market.

Meaning that if you fund a $5K EMD and then decide not to close you lose the EMD, or you pay for an inspection up front and risk missing out on the deal while you're waiting for the report.

Because we have been in growth mode acquiring properties with closing costs and rehab costs our business has been operating at a loss on paper each year not having to pay taxes for the business. 

well if I ever make it to the Smokies to see what the draw is  I will rent a condo then :)  I am just guess but I suspect folks that go there want to be in the woods and hear the birds and maybe some local mtn views etc.. or some sort of privacy they never get at home out east were there is not very much public lands close to where they live in the big city. ????

You must have the Business tax license & pay all the fees required.  

Sometimes it's better to pay a bit more, for a real professional to handle your most important transaction. 

For small MFH/SFH you have to find the deal, inspect, estimates and decide what to do, make a deal, get financing, get contractors, manage contractors, pay contractors, then turn it over to a property manager.

How does anyone expect people in a place with an average income of 25K a year to pay an average of $1400/mo rent? 

Since generally the benefit of a house hack is to hold the primary residence loan as long as possible, if you hold it long-term, you could still be forced to pay the mortgage insurance 10+ years down the line.Plus, you can only have one FHA loan (with some exceptions) at a time, so I'd rather use this house hack for 5% down which I can repeat and save FHA for another time.