Here is a good article about ithttps://www.kitces.com/blog/limits-to-converting-rental-property-into-a-primary-residence-to-plan-for-irc-section-121-capital-gains-exclusion/

(b) "I know it's a drag getting all the tools and supplies out of a house you just renovated - does anyone need some help loading and transporting stuff?" 

It will track every trip I make by car (or train ;) ) and ask me if it was for business or personal- it will allow me to classify each trip (going for supplies, visiting buildings) and it will even auto classify recurring trips.

I have my work cut out for me in making a decision around exclusivity. 

I'd imagine that replacing all the drywall is not going to be insanely more expensive that replacing half of it, but no idea what supply of material is, nor install labor.  

He would lose the 250k/500k capital gains exclusion on resale, homestead and probably the stepped up basis on death. 

I would do both.get a job in real estateinvest in real estate on the side you're right, no scale in dog walking. you need new regular income and a way to start investing, these are not mutually exclusive, do both

Just to clarify, I was asking about hiring a Home Depot Contractor and using all Home Depot supplies (cabinets, flooring, counter tops) as opposed to finding an independent contractor out in Florida, and using their suppliers to handle the remodel.

May 2017Single-family home sales rose 11.5 percent year-over-year with 8,156 units sold;Total property sales increased 12.3 percent with 9,744 units sold;Total dollar volume jumped 17.4 percent to $2.8 billion;The single-family home median price rose 4.4 percent to a record high of $235,000;The single-family home average price climbed 4.3 percent to $302,362, which was the second highest level of all time (highest was $302,629 in June 2015);Single-family homes months of inventory grew to a 4.1-months supply, the highest level since November 2012;Townhome/condominium sales surged 16.5 percent, with the average price up 3.1 percent to $206,363 and the median price up 0.9 percent to $163,500;Leases of single-family homes soared 31.0 percent with average rent down 4.2 percent to $1,779;Volume of townhome/condominium leases rocketed 46.2 percent with average rent down 6.7 percent to $1,565.

Hi Will,Apartments are available but there is a huge over supply of apartment development here in Sydney.