Areas that saw population bumps during the pandemic could see milder but significant demographic shifts, as will almost any area where effected residents have family, relatives or property available for immediate longterm occupancy.

It is in my book (available in January) and the score sheet is part of my forms package available for purchase.

I would caution against using security deposit funds during a tenancy if you can avoid it; you want all the funds available at move-out in case you need them. 

 - Fannie/Freddie (f/f) residential conventional loan is the cheapest money available.  

Also, there are many integrations available with QuickBooks so that receipts, bills, invoices can be sent to Quickbooks or outside software to read each and automatically create the transaction and we just have to review and approve.

@Nick Henry this also comes down to how much time you have available and how much effort you are able to put into purchasing a home or building and doing renovations and then finding quality residents to live and take care of your asset.

I will not comment as to the tax laws and underlying rules - that is a discussion you can have with your tax advisor who presumably you are paying to help you.What I will do is provide practical and business guidance on tracking time.Firstly, there are apps available that can assist with time tracking where you can specifically detail your time, who you met with, etc.

If you don’t have a large down payment saved up, don’t worry—there are plenty of options available . . .”A trusted lender will go over the various loan types with you, any down payment requirements on those, and down payment assistance programs you may qualify for.

In a situation where you were doing an arbitrage (renting it from the owner, then yourself re-renting it to someone else) your costs to renovate/fix it up while you're using it would be able to be capitalized and depreciated by you once your rental was in service (available for rent to others). 

Many options available.