She has our mortgage payment and 2 vehicles in her name.

Mass loaded vinyl (MLV): Apply a layer of heavy vinyl sheets directly to the wall to block sound transmission.

Generally - the depreciation on the structure, mortgage interest, property taxes, repairs & maintenance, insurance, property manager, utilities, vehicle expenses (mileage), professional fees (reports/CPA), home office (office supplies, percentage of utilities, continuing education).

I also live in Tomball and have a similar need for a CPA with heavy RE / investment income experience.Matthew

We lean heavy on internal technicians to save the trip fees and only lean on 3rd party for bigger licensed work. 

I log my work for Material Participation in a simple spreadsheet - Date, Property, Activity, Time, Description, Vehicle Used, Mileage, Person (my wife or myself), Expenses.

If you don't like cold calling, being hyper social/extroverted, and dealing with heavy rejection often I wouldn't recommend it.

Meanwhile, the more partnership-heavy investors often experience setbacks but use the leverage of partnerships to rebound.To me, partnerships increase both risk and reward.

Short-term rentals (STRs) could work well in vacation-heavy areas, but they require active management—considering a co-host or property manager can help offset time constraints.

So the heavy lift for the multi-family route for newbies is the extra capital needed.