We are just starting to research and plan for a move out to the southeast somewhere, still in early planning phase. 

The first is that there's no consensus between tax professionals, and the second is that you will not like my personal interpretation.My interpretation is:Until the property is "placed in service" - everything goes into basis.Illustration.You buy a property July 1st.You finish rehab November 1st and put the property on the market.Your tenant moves in January 15th.The property was placed in service November 1st, and it does not matter that the tenant did not move in until the next year.Everything paid between July 1st and November 1st, including interest and utilities, goes into basis.

However, prices on $1M homes haven't really appreciated all that much and we are looking to move to something much smaller near where our kids go to school. 

One tenant moved out giving me the ability to rehab theirs + raise What was the outcome?

So, we buy basically move-in ready and let the market do the appreciation instead of me 6 months full rehab.

Watch it for a while, track listings, see what sells and what doesnt, what areas move quickly, etc.

Quote from @Lorenzo Lopez: In terms of buying my first deal, I haven't been able to move the needle because, where I am, for example, small multifamily is trading at around 5.5% caps and rates are 6.5% .

Ramping up this year but my wife and I ultimately plan to move to Georgia in 2027 (we already have a realtor for the curious). 

Choose the one that offers the best deal and service, and you'll be set to move forward with the process.

They have since moved on to a new manager that is in close communication with me to get the repairs done and SDIRA is even offering to pay me the missing rent for December that the evicted tenant never paid.