Another Travel Write-Off Question (Hopefully my last one)

[Lucas Hammer]

Hey everyone, I've searched high and low for the answer to this, but I can't seem to find it. I have a couple of different scenarios and I just want to make sure that I understand how taxes work on both of these. I do already have an investment property in Chicago, so I'm "in business" currently.

1. I believe that New York is ahead of Chicago on housing trends and I'd like to visit and actually tour similar properties in NYC to get ideas for how to market my property (small square footage, making the most of the space, creative ideas for maximizing usability, etc.). As long as the majority of my time is spent on real estate researching, such as investor's meetings and visiting properties, I can write off the trip even though I don't own a property in NYC, correct? (I'm aware, I couldn't write off any personal things done while there, but food, hotel, airfare, etc.)

2. I'm considering buying a property in Tulsa (my hometown) due to low cost of living, having family/friends that I could have check on the property regularly, etc. If I go tour properties there, but decide not to buy yet, do those costs get added to the basis of a Tulsa property if/when I buy one there, or since I'm already in business as an investor with an active property, can I write off those costs? As a follow-up question, would the answer be different if I owned an LLC vs sole proprietor? Also, what happens if I deciding that Tulsa isn't the market for me and don't buy one at all? Am I simply out of that money for the research done since I don't have a second property?

Thanks!