I live and invest in what I consider a neutral state (PA).

It may be the case then where a neutral third party serving as mediator to facilitate these difficult discussions would be best (elder law attorney), and easily worth the nominal hourly fee to establish a clear picture of the financial reality of the situation. 

This is going to be cost neutral, I can promise you."

@Dean Letfus war zone n.noun An area in which military combat takes place.An area at sea in which ships are prone to being attacked during a war.orDefinition of WAR ZONE 1: a zone in which belligerents are waging war; broadly : an area marked by extreme violence 2: a designated area especially on the high seas within which rights of neutrals are not respected by a belligerent nation in time of war I live in Memphis and none of my properties are in areas that I consider "WAR ZONES" if you say "socially and economically underprivileged areas" I would agree with you but definitely NOT "War Zones"..See below...

If either property has paper losses that exceed the taxable income of the other, that would neutralize taxes due, but your goal should be 1) produce as much rental income as possible and 2) maintain the property while carefully tracking all expenses and improvement costs so you are only taxed on the appropriate amount of income, if any.

The floors are a neutral  timeless color so it's always a winner for us.

That is, the lender must send the entire amount of the construction loan to a neutral party, such as a loan servicer or funds control company, before the deed of trust is recorded and with clear instructions on how it is to be disbursed (or reclaimed by the lender) using a draw schedule.

Hopefully 10 - 20 years from now I can look back on this and say it was a positive event or at least neutral.

Is this generally a good thing, bad thing, or neutral? 

They're also okay with floating at neutral to slightly positive monthly income for a while so that's another consideration.