Building on a hand-shake will lead to misunderstandings.  

Jeff:I must be misunderstanding you.  

@Mark Collins it sounds to me like your CPA is correct, but you are misunderstanding.

If so then you might reevaluate both "options",1) sounds somewhat dubious 2) I think might represent a basic misunderstanding of new 179, HVAC and roof expensing is availabile for certain commercial properties, not residential rentals.

There's a GROSS misunderstanding on most people's parts about those rules.

It could be a misunderstanding

It's not a formal partnership and I usually just draw up a "memorandum of understanding" a one page document laying out the basic terms of the agreement so there is no misunderstanding. 

There are a few minor frustrations that I have had due to some misunderstand/miscommunications about how their system works.

I'm familiar with all of this having done several BRRRRs/yr.I don't think we're really disagreeing on anything, but I think you're misunderstanding what I wrote above.

Don’t misunderstand.