In short, it is highly possible a much more expensive neighboring home could be paying less property tax.What is much more relevant is comparing assessed value to assessed value. 

2.For purchases made on a credit card, is it best to use separate cards, or are there good methods for tracking expenses by property?

prices are high, interest rates are high, there is tremendous demand for inventory by both retail / primary buyers and investors, good contractors are booked up, some materials are still expensive. ' can't we just be honest that (1) if you are in a strong financial position, then yes, RE is still a good investment and ALSO  (2) it's way more difficult than it was in 2016? 

In an ideal situation, you and your aunt would each pay back your fair share to your grandmother or each other. i.e. each of you share X% of your sale profits to your Grandma OR you and your aunt split the past expenses (taxes, other holding costs, renovation, expenses, etc.) with your grandmother and pay her back. 

Yes, you can ultimately own a property with little/nothing out of pocket when you're done - but when you reposition with today's rates even moderately leveraged stabilized assets can be hard to find cashflow with debt service and a realistic operating expense load.

As I understand it 100% deduction on expenses that are soley related to the business or the rented unit, 50% deduction on expenses that relate to the general property as a whole ( mortgage interest, insurance premiums, common area repair expenses).

One was making an extra $600/month while covering all of his household expenses with just 3 PadMates. 

I can find a lot of options in the UK and elsewhere, but not really in the US that's not like "break the bank" expensive. 

seems high. this town is very expensive so bids are always highs.For the residential I plan to just build lots.For the farmstead area our plan is to build our primary home and then 5 smaller cabins for rentals.That road above is a smaller access road to the little cabins.

@Andrew Steffens I think we've been able to avoid cheap owners by taking on the expense of many of these consumable supplies, which effectively removed them / their spending philosophies from the equation.