The decision to use Schedule E or Schedule C for reporting rental income from house hacking can depend on various factors, including the nature of your rental activities and how you've structured your rental business.Schedule E is typically used to report rental real estate income and expenses for individuals who own rental properties as investments or passive income sources.Schedule C, on the other hand, is used for reporting income and expenses from self-employment or business activities, including activities that are considered to be actively managed.The interpretation of the tax code and the determination of which schedule to use can vary based on individual circumstances and the tax preparer's expertise.Your tax preparer may reference relevant sections of the IRS tax code, such as IRS Publication 527 (Residential Rental Property), IRS Publication 334 (Tax Guide for Small Business), or other applicable publications and regulations.Factors that might influence the decision include the level of involvement in managing the rental property, the intent to generate passive income versus active business income, and the structure of your rental business (e.g., sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC).Ultimately, it's essential to work with a tax advisor or accountant who understands your specific situation, goals, and the nuances of rental property taxation.

We currently own the lot it would sit on free and clear in city limits.

If anyone has suggestions for such areas, please feel free to advise!

After a few conversations, I think the syndication/ JV model where I am more hands off is the route I will be going.

If you have any questions regarding the requirements and qualifications, always feel free to reach out.

This is since 1) there's no penalty for age so it doesn't matter when you use it 2) the longer the retirement asset exists the more chance it has to grow tax deferred or tax free 3)if you are retirement age then using your personal assets first will likely place you in the lowest possible tax bracket when you start drawing those funds. 

Part of the agent’s process will be to reach out and find out how much compensation the seller would be able or willing to commit to, versus how much compensation you are responsible for.If there is no buyer broker agreement in place, you are free to do as you wish, however, if you want representation and were hoping the seller will pay your agent, the agent should be the one to reach out to the seller first to make inquiries and secure a compensation agreement with the seller.  

By trialing these softwares for a given region before committing to one you can make a direct comparison on data quality.If you are just starting out, then I'd recommend to go free first and extract leads directly from public and/or county websites.

@David Friedman there are generally a few brokerages in each market that heavily deal in the restaurant space, it would likely be good to get on their radar, and to @Evan Polaski 's point, having your data/features on hand to "pitch" the site is likely a good call.Other items to note would be just to understand if the current configurations of the retail spaces could be reconfigured for a restaurant, things like grease traps, larger water lines, patio requirements may all be things they are looking for.  

@Joseph Hammel get a free version of the online federal tax prep software available from a number of vendors.