Sole Proprietorship & Mortgage Interest Deduction

[Kevin L.]

Hey All,

I currently own 3 properties, I live in one (while renting part of it out at the same time) and rent the other 2 completely. Based on what I read, an individual may only write off mortgage interest on up to two properties total in their name. My question is, if I were to start a real estate investing business as a sole proprietorship (not LLC, I know many people are going to say I should do a LLC but I'm not asking about that in this thread), can I write off mortgage interest on my 3rd home and beyond if I put it under as business expenses of my sole proprietorship business?

Hope I didn't just completely confuse the heck out of everybody on this forum.

-KCL