@Matthew Couto The location, analysis, and acquisition of real estate is essentially the same everywhere...a real estate transaction is the same here as it is on the moon...so, that's the easy part.

It will essentially be taxed as a short term capital gain or regular income tax at that point.

My opinion...take the $500...I'm surprised the broker offered that...in fact, I'd say it was a mistake on his part, as he was essentially admitting negligence on his firm's part...That said, I'm not an attorney, so if you aren't happy with the $500, you should probably speak with one...

If you spend that precious little energy/time/money/effort on 1 of those "1,000,000 Seemingly Important But Really Nonessential Things Newbies Stay Up Late At Night Worrying About Before They Actually Do A Deal" questions then you are dramatically decreasing the odds that you will put enough of your energy/time/money/effort into one of the "Very Few Essential Things Newbies Need To Do To Get A Deal" things that will actually bring you success in this business.You need to become a psycho jealous husband with your energy/time/money/effort when you first get in this business.

I originally subscribed to the Essentials (middle) version ($35/month, but is currently discounted by 50% for 6 months or longer depending on your discount source).

The goal should be to have the other unit(s) of the property cover all your expenses so that you are essentially living rent/mortgage-free, and can take that savings and put it towards additional properties.My recommendation would be to talk to a mortgage broker ASAP and verify that you can qualify for an FHA mortgage, which would allow you to put 3.5% down (less than $10K) and qualify for a great OO rate.

HOA and condo fees are an operating expense and thus are in the 50% rulePersonally, I would never include them in the 50%, since they're an extra expense for essentially nothing, insofar as a rental is concerned.

Most people take this money and essentially throw it away on unnecessary stuff -- electronics, restaurants, vacations, cars, etc.

Yup, every time...and yes, they are at $150 these days (at least in my experience)...I understand the need to rekey, as FNMA uses the same keys for large batches of properties, so giving you a key would essentially allow you into many other FNMA properties (and allow other buyers into your property if they swipe a key).But, the $150 is ridiculous.

If you choose to make that election, then from the IRS' perspective, your LLC is essentially a corporation.If you elect to be taxed as an s-corp, earnings still flow through to your 1040, but you have some additional options with respect to breaking up salary and dividend payments.