On the positive, holding costs to get you to february should be minimal.  

Federal programs will require you to use GC/licensed folks for a lot of the work and they will get reimbursed by the institution that your loan is with; many GCs don't want to wait on the float time of requesting funds and getting them.Depending on the program and rehab/condition of the home, you may not be required to live in the home (think black mold remediation...bank isn't going to put you in a compromised position) however they may have min/max of when you need to move in.

Bonus depreciation is just a special part of the US tax code.It allows you to take accelerated depreciation on portions of your property depending on when an asset is put into service.At the time of this writing, you can write off a huge portion (60% in 2024) of many qualified components that have a useful lifespan of 15 years or less.That means a certain percentage of things like landscaping, sidewalks, latches, appliances, fences, certain flooring, etc is depreciable in year 1.The bonus depreciation rate percentage changes yearly depending on the administration and the tax code.For years 2015 through 2017 first-year depreciation for all the items on a 15-year schedule or less was set to 50%.It was scheduled to go down to 40% in 2018 and 30% in 2019 and then 0% in 2020.But then Trump got elected, and he enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.That moved the bonus depreciation percentage to 100% from 2017 to 2022.In 2023 it went down to 80% and it’s currently at 60%.Depending on who gets elected again, 100% may be back on the table.Only time will tell.We know that the US government wants to incentivize more development and ownership of RE.They want Americans to continue to build and maintain our physical world.That’s why real estate is one of the most tax-advantaged assets in the US.Depreciation and bonus depreciation for RE are very positive and will likely continue in the years ahead.

Quote from @Andrew Steffens: It is tough to find positive CoC but not impossible. 

Our stock position is from a Longterm 15 years or more needs standpoint.  

It should be common sense that if you respect your tenants, understand the culture and provide a positive and enjoyable experiences, in many cases that is reciprocated.

To answer one of your questions, I doubt you will ever find someone willing to give a loan in 2nd position on an investment property. 

About 1/3 are still not providing distributions but their cash position is strong and I'm not concerned about them potentially selling at a loss. 

In this completive market, it seems as though off-market deals is the only place to really find a "comfortable" position to be in (although completely aware that we are all in a risk filled area of investing). 

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