Hi everyone — grateful to be here. A little about me and my "why": I'm a mortgage loan originator with NEXA Lending and a real estate investor. I work hard for my active income, and my goal is to keep more of what I earn — following the tax code exactly as it's written and taking full advantage of it as both a producing loan officer and an investor — so I can redeploy that money into more investments and build a legacy for my children. I come from a long line of poverty, and I'm determined to be the one who changes that from here forward: creating generational wealth that outlasts me. As a Christian, this is bigger than money for me. I believe everything I have comes from Him — the funds that pass through my hands are His, and they return to Him — so I carry a real responsibility to steward them well and handle them correctly. Where I'm at: I hold 8 properties in East Tennessee's Smokies area — mostly long-term rentals, plus my primary home and a vacant lot. Buy-and-hold has been my lane, and I've built a strong equity base over the years. My big domino: The tax side is my #1 challenge — specifically, offsetting my active income as a producing loan officer with my rental portfolio, and unlocking equity that isn't working hard right now (including a property I own free and clear that's sitting vacant, in prime Smokies STR country). I started this journey about 6 years ago not really knowing what I was doing, and I've made some expensive mistakes — with taxes especially. I'm learning and doing better every year, and getting the tax strategy right is the one thing that would make everything else easier. One question I'd love the group's take on right away: does my work as a mortgage loan originator count toward Real Estate Professional Status? Since I'm on the mortgage side of real estate, I'm not sure whether my hours qualify — and it makes a big difference for whether I can use my rentals to offset my active income. Thank you for having me — looking forward to learning from all of you.

Is there a specific training on the state of Tennessee and the FONCE exemption and how Tennessee taxes the sale of real estate? I'm working on shutting down a series LLC that I never should have created. The property in this LLC is vacant due to tenant turnover. I need to decide to renovate to sell or renovate to rerent. If I rerent it, I can transfer it to my own name, wait a year plus, then sell it and not pay TN 6.5% on the gain. I'm seeking clarity on this issue :)