you can use "de minimis safe harbor"  to expense most of the appliance. 

That and renting under market suggests you should sell, park the money somewhere safe to generate some positive returns and wait till you are ready to invest again.You presently have negative cash flow and over $2000/month in lost potential income based on nearly 279K in dead equity.

But it may be that the property was held for investment appreciation and the face that she has not used it for a long time for anything other than to hold like raw land is demonstration of that intent.What they are reporting from the attorney is a "safe harbor definition from rev proc 2008-16. 

Using the above example, let's say you decide to play it safe and just set your budget at $40k instead of $25K.

If you were going to be making a purchase in the next 3 years would you keep your money safely "under the mattress" in the bank, or would you place it in the market and accept the risk for the possibly great rewards?

I figured I could safely sell the house for 80k when all said and done.

Good luck Andrew, and enjoy a happy, safe South Florida holiday weekend!

At the end of the day, better be safe than sorry.

This is about as safe as loaning on a handshake."

I'm sure I can go 70% downpayment and 30% surplus, but I want to play it safe.