The rule of thumb is that expenses (vacancies, insurance, taxes, maintenance, property management, etc.) will eat up about 50% of the rent.

I'm considering purchasing some properties in Southeast Florida over the next couple of years.Would anyone care to share some rules of thumb or general advice about vacation rental properties?

Generally, the rule is 2 years between "owner occupied" loans without raising any eyebrows.

And just what rules are you talking about.

As a general rule always plan for a counter offer unless you are paying list price.

There is no hard and fast rule to determine whether you are a dealer or whether you are just an investor, however, if your primary source of income is from flipping a bunch of houses every year, you will probably get called a dealer.

I know it depends on a bunch of things, but looking for general rules of thumb (incl labor).

I'm not personally aware of any rule that says you cannot do a cash out refi immediately after purchasing the property....

So is this a federal tax rule, or is it state-to-state variation?

Also, I have no idea what the laws/regulations are in your state, so if there is a local rule preventing anything more than 6%, then ignore me.