When can I start tracking expenses to write them off?

[Samantha Soto]

My husband and I would like to start investing in Indianapolis, Indiana and we already own a couple of properties in Huntsville, Alabama. However, before we begin investing in Indianapolis, we want to travel there to visit some of the neighborhoods.

At what point can we begin to track our expenses to write them off? Do we need to own property in Indiana before we do that?

[Eric Gaudio]

Every expense in the course of business is or will be deductible. Pre startup expenses are typically amortized once you have a revenue generating asset. If you already have rentals then the expenses for a new market will offset against any gains in your income currently. I assume you have an LLC pass through entity setup at this point.