Hey everyone. Happy to join this group. I have a question in regards to whether anyone has experienced an IRS audit on an STR purchase and won where you manage the property remotely and availed yourself to the STR tax loophole in particular to the 100 hour material participation test where no one has done more hours than you. @Ryan Bakke, CPA I believe you mentioned the IRS has come and performed 7 audits on your clients where you have won on all of them. Was anyone managing their property remotely? My CPA believes I would fail the audit if I wasn’t within driving distance to the property and that I would have a hard time demonstrating material participation. I disagreed but was curious to hear other opinions.

Is there a Coffee chat with Ryan session at 10 am today - July 10?

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.

I cancelled the calls today for the holiday. If you have a question, drop it on this thread!

I'm working on first STR purchase. Considering cash down payment versus HELOC draw for the down payment. Why I'd use cash is to avoid the HELOC payback (fixed 7.1%, 10/10, not yet tapped) and increased cash flow (no HELOC interest repayment) for the STR. On the other hand if I used the HELOC for down payment I preserve cash for to scale in near future and for rainy-day funds. Any suggestions?