Looking for a Second Opinion from Tax Pros

[Kate McClinton]

I'm second guessing some answers my CPA gave me recently and wanted to run the following questions by others who specialize in real estate accounting.  Thanks so much for your time!

We purchased a house, listed it for rent a few days after closing, and had the following work done:

Painting (interior of house) - $4,220
Plumbing and electrical work - $1,603
Countertops - $2,130
Flooring - $5,800
Garage Door - $850

1.)  Is it permissible to use the de minimis safe harbor election and expense the renovation costs that fall below $2,500 instead of capitalize them?

2.)  Is the house considered “placed in service” on the day it was listed for rent?

3.)  When calculating the cost basis of a home, is it permissible to use the allocation of building to land from the county property tax assessment instead of an appraisal?  Our CPA said we had to use the appraisal as it is more accurate.

4.)  Our CPA has been depreciating new appliance purchases from all of our rental properties instead of expensing them in the current year using the de minimis safe harbor election.  When asked, she said she didn’t think it would make much of a difference and would likely cost us more in professional fees for her to use that election.  Does this sound right to you?

Thanks so much for your input!