Like when markets sky rocket and you were in the right place at right time.

How you ultimately financed it, upfront when you purchased it (or how you might refinance it later) is irrelevant.Just do a simple search on the internet for depreciating rental real estate property, you will find a virtually limitless number of sources that can explain basic depreciation mechanics - its not rocket science.

But prices have sky-rocketed in the last few years so it has become very difficult to find deals that make sense.Once i finish the 2 apartments I recently purchased and rent it out i will probably start looking at different more affordable areas, but probably around greater Lisbon.I think investing in university towns is a great strategy, around hospitals and stations are other good areas to focus on. 

Or $10 on rocket lawyer. :) That's what I personally do anyway.

If it is just the business and not buying a building or the land beneath it then it is not generally a real estate licensed activity.You need to check for each state what is or is not required.You could go on a site like Rocket Lawyer etc. and for a nominal fee ask the question.In commercial real estate transactions you can generally have consulting and other fees on the HUD-1 as RESPA does not typically apply.To look for more businesses you could look at bizbuysell.com  Sellers typically want 3 times gross profit earnings so if 100k a year after expenses they want 300,000.

It isn't rocket science, and doesn't need to be made overly complicated to work well.

My current mortgages are with Quicken/Rocket Mortgage so that’s certainly not “local” and my primary is with the Credit Union associated with my workplace and offers limited options.

Not rocket science but such a powerful technique!

So I think it's great you're looking at it.The best thing you can do is: 1. get the appraisal and any other comps you can get that will give you a good idea if you're getting the property for a legit price or not (looking at comps for any kind of property isn't rocket surgery) and 2. buy in a solid market.

I only tried Rocket Mortgage so far.