I have kicked the tires with a few small investments in both long-term and vacation rentals offered on the website over the last few months. 

@Zeeshan S.The funny thing is that the first two companies came recommended and I tried to vet them and talked to references too.

Here's a https://www.irs.gov/businesses/cost-segregation-audit-technique-guide-chapter-4-principal-elements-of-a-quality-cost-segregation-study-and-report to the IRS website noting specific items that are included in the cost segregation study report.

My guess is you and I agree that in the "mom and pop" space (1 to around 50 units) there are deals to be found regardless of timing.What @Deshen Tang is referring to in his comment here is my decision to sell 3,000 of my 4,000 apartment units 3 years ago, just months before the market for commercial multifamily collapsed and prices fell 30-40 percent. 

I find market price with a combo of that website and looking at what other LL's are asking for on Facebook Marketplace.

Simply do not renew, which I believe Nathen was referring to 

Even though we do run credit and background, I refer to us as private money lenders rather than hard money lenders based primarily on the cost of capital.

For anyone that hasn't used Doorvest, it's a simple website where you put a $1000 deposit and they send you curated list of houses they buy that need renovation, renovate, and then tell you a final purchase price along with guaranteeing things such as first year rent will be 100% covered by them even if they don't find tenants.

The 100/150-hour rules you’ve seen are likely referring to material participation, which is necessary for short-term rentals (STRs) to be treated as non-passive income.

As for how they know they’re getting a good deal, some of these sites that allow you to list your tradelines and match you up with renters/borrowers (or however you wanna refer to them) will list out the details of the tradeline that matter such as how long the credit line’s been open, the credit limit, balance on the card and your credit score.