I think it boils down to why the IRS would treat real estate investors differently from other (read storefront) business.

Keep in mind that I have no personal experience in this domain, and I treat electrical and plumbing with great respect. 

We consider it at 125% of face value.So we treat $1000 of tax free income the same as $1250 of W2 taxable income.Something else you could consider, that we as lenders do not consider, is that her retirement income is probably more stable than typical W2 income.

Treating the termites is not a big problem.

It might not even go down at all depending on how the market treats it, but continue the purchase renegotiate now while you can and take the chances.

Treat your investments like a business. 

On the other hand I treat my renters like gold.  

But my approach would be to treat it like crabs in a pot of water.

A huge number of agents are part time and treat the job as just thatTo confirm this all you need to do is to take a look at how bad some of the listings are one or two pictures are no pictures at all mistaking the square footage of the house Mistating the square footage or acres of the property on and on and on it really is horrible for the rest of the agents who take this as a career in a profession and try their hardest every day

You have to treat it like a business.