Unfortunately, I have to pay 900 of her rent this month, and I find out I've come close to having to come up with part of her rent for a number of the previous months. 

Thanks so much David, this is very helpful indeed allthough unfortunately PNC doesn't offer HELOCs in my state (Hawaii).

@Adam Sha as @Becca F. mentioned, Class C isn't for everyone.Traditionally, going back 30 years, investors bought Class B properties as rentals and held them to gentrify.It's only in the last 5-6 years we've seen investors buying Class C - and many unfortunately, don't know what they are doing.With $180k you could buy a nice Class B rental in Metro Detroit.

Unfortunately I was forced by the title company to pay these out of my escrow funds and I will never be able to collect from the tenants. 

Unfortunately we do not pay for (or manage) WiFi for this property so that is not an option.We don’t need to need to see a “live measurement” of the tank.

I would house hack till I die if I could but unfortunately it is not in the cards for now.

Unfortunately, I do not have experience in this space; therefore, I hope to get guidance from an experienced NYC developer.  

This same property around 2013-2014 would have been around 400,000€, but unfortunately that ship has sailed.

La Crosse, WI wasn’t included as one of the options unfortunately.

Here is the summary if you are interested.In this case, the main question is when did the investor completed his start-up phase and became actively engaged in his business.Whether a taxpayer is engaged in a trade or business is determined using a facts and circumstances test under which courts have focused on the following three factors that indicate the existence of a trade or business: (1) whether the taxpayer undertook the activity intending to earn a profit; (2) whether the taxpayer is regularly and actively involved in the activity; and (3) whether the taxpayer's activity has actually commenced.