Tax Question - Put into service as a rental

[John Alosio]

Hello Great people of BP!
I have a question regarding depreciated improvements on a rental property. I do have a CPA. But I just wanted to get a second opinion on my situation.

My first question: This past year I moved out of a duplex house hack and put my unit into service as a rental (2.5 years after purchasing). During the time which I lived there, I made some improvements that I thought would be no problem to begin depreciation after I moved out. However my CPA was concerned about how to treat these items, being that it could raise a red flag for an audit if they were being depreciated over 25 years instead of the typical 27.5. Does this sound right? Has anyone been in a similar situation?

On to my next question:

I Am currently living in my second duplex house hack. I am gearing up to do a similar deal with this house as well. Live here for a few years while I make necessary improvements, then move on to another property and put my unit into service as a rental....

I plan on adding some walls/closets to cure its functional obsolescence.This is not important for me personally since my family is small. The idea is that it would add value/comfort when renting to a larger family.

So... the question is... Should i hold off on making this improvement until after a move out? So that i may Start depreciation at 27.5 years from the day that i put it into service? Or am I over thinking this? Should I just complete the job and writeoff what I can, when the time comes?

I hope this made sense. Thanks for reading!