My husband and I are also investors with a rental portfolio and active with fix/flip properties in the Houston area. 

They truly have helped me go from couch to actively investing.Good Luck

There will also have to be seasonal maintenance activities such as cleaning of the gutters, emptying water out of the sprinkler systems, etc. to eliminate some of the weather related issues. 

Welcome to BP @Frank Closer You'll find a lot of active members here on BP from the greater DC area.DC is very tenant friendly you may want to buy nearby but outside of the city.

I love the activity!

Non US citizens have meager institutional options when seeking to finance investment real estate here in the US.Which leads me to wonder why more foreign investors don't actively seek out (or seek to create) deals financed by the seller.

@Brandon Hall is the expert in this field and an active participant in the forum might help shed some light on this. 

These will be classified as passive losses, so you can't write it off against active income you may personally have.

I am not new to Bigger Pockets, but I've recently decided to become active, as I believe there's a lot to be learned from the experienced members on this site.

Ive tried numerous times and ways to contact the appraiser but they havent returned any calls or emails and the bank says they arent legally allowed to speak with them.