This shifts incentive for the realtors within LS from providing good service and bagging repeat business to just be agressive in tagging properties.This is in stark contrast to the vendors who are not allowed to tag properties and thus always have an incentive to provide good service and gain repeat business.Remember you have already paid $10k, so you are going to work with the realtors within LS rather than external realtors.- LS uses a catch phrase "Real Estate is Easy, People are difficult" implying that RE is easy, you just need to be able to deal with various temperaments of various people involved in the sealing of a deal.

We lived in each house two years to avoid capital gains.

Let's say for example that it is now worth $800K; if you paid $800K or more (total basis, not just purchase price), then there is no capital gains for which you would be seeking deferment, so no point to the 1031.

However, if, as a wholesaler, you can provide real value in this area to your buyers, you will stand out above the rest... and gain a huge advantage.My student, in Jax, of all places, actually went to Home Depot and priced out stuff like counter tops, flooring, paint, appliances, fixtures, etc, etc and created a spreadsheet in excel.

Once again thank you guys for the valuable information you have given me.

I've read the other posts on finding a good company to manage the SDIRA and have found some valuable information, but am more interested in individual opinions on the best places to start, with the intention of increasing the amount of cash available to put towards purchases and rehabs.

I struggled through Mech Eng with a minor in EE.Then ended up in drive control automation & traveled the world on contract jobs.But that minor in EE saved me a lot of $$$ when renovating homes esp splitting the services for myself & others.If you're serious about RE investment an engineering background will save you a fortune & give you valuable insight into structural re-design (assuming you take some design courses) when you blow out the walls etc of an older home or add a room above an attached garage etc.It's a great discipline & you will never regret finishing.

I have also seen people pay a premimum and not get anything valuable in return.

While this is one of your first topics, I've gained a tremendous amount of information from you already.

I would love to branch out and do more investing in other areas, but starting out, this is where my money has allowed me to invest, plus this is where I grew up.I am looking forward to gaining a lot of information on the site and networking with other investors.PS, if anyone has a property in Los Angeles, Southbay, LAX or Inglewood area that is pet friendly, preferably a house that they would like to rent please let me know.Thank you