Tax Write-offs pre-ownership

[Mason Haley]

Hello, I am currently in the process of finding a short term rental to purchase and wondering how to best take advantage of what I am doing from a tax implication. I am in a high tax bracket so the implications could be very beneficial. For example, we are traveling to the city we are looking and going to be staying a couple days specifically to look for STRs. Is this all a deductible expense as long as it is tracked, even though I do not currently own any properties or have a LLC?

Likewise, I am a member of a local REIA, bigger pockets pro member, etc. are those write-offs I can take advantage of at this time? If so how or how do I get to the point that these are deductible expenses?

Thank you for your help!