Seems there is a lot of grey and the rules aren't exactly laid out to easily be consumed.  

The IRS does not state that a taxpayer must hold for a certain timeframe but with that being said if you hold the property for 24 months, you straddle three tax years and should easily be able to prove your intent, under audit.

If you don't live in Baltimore City, you need an on the ground person to run your investments who knows the city well, its a block by block city, and you can easily lose all your money if you don't invest right.  

Then they engineer a complete turnaround.Drug ghettos, by definition, need to be easily accessible from multiple areas of the city.

However, having a higher monthly income is also a form of reduced risk, as is owning a larger portfolio which can more easily absorb temporary set-backs (like a large cap ex) from a single property.  

some HML will accept your Canadian trans union credit report as it is similar format in the US.. so lenders can verify it easily.. 

If I invest 100K in a property, tie up my cash for 8 months and break even it is disastrous and it can very easily happen especially with a novice.  

In my experience hardwood can get ruined easily if tenants don't clean up water right away.

Our first facility was easily 20 minutes away, but we hired a manager.  

That are priced to easily Flip/Invest.