On the plus side now I will have a recorded Certificate of Occupancy with the city, as this property will be a long term hold for me most likely.

Then progress to permits and then building.You could also just do it and hope the city doesn't notice, which they probably won't.Your challenge will be getting Certificates of Compliance on the units!

I will check to see if they handle Wholesalers.  

The date you are able to take depreciation is when the property is ready for renting (i.e. advertising for rent or obtaining a certificate of occupancy).

If you rent that out without a true Certificate of Occupancy, a tenant can sue you for ALL of their rent money back. 

If you give them 30 days to get rid of the dogs, there will be comfort animal certificates in 2 days from an online site.

The townhouse we are looking at has a Certificate of No Harassment in place, open violations and a vacate order.

I'm also working on a Google Data Analyst certification to bring in some extra income while I'm home with our 19-month-old daughter.I'm still pretty new to this, though, and I'm not sure where to start or if I'm on the right track.

Whenever you plan on buying a property in the future, do not take the seller agent word for it always do your due diligence and make sure you get a certificate from the township that clearly states how many units are legally allowed in that building. 

However, there may be a commonly expected way of handling it in your area.