If substantial renovations or capital improvements are made in later years, those improvements may qualify for new bonus depreciation.3.

Here’s an example of what I've used if they don't qualify based on what's on application. 

THEN, I plan to purchase the second home using a FHA or conventional loan (3%-5% down), for which I will likely pay the monthly cost out-of-pocket, maybe with some rental income support if it is a duplex.My concern is, I do not want to spend my savings or weigh down my debt-to-income ratio so much so that I cannot qualify for and pay the down payment and closing for the lending on the second home.Questions: - With the first home being multi-family, 75% of the rental income (or potential rental income initially) will relatively either maintain or boost my debt-to-income ratio from lenders' perspectives, right? 

I've been on this board since 2010 and haven't found an example yet.

It may sell at a loss if someone else knows that you are trying to get rid of it because of a bad tenancy, but if you can get a well qualified tenant in there, then it may be worth keeping at this point if you can make it get some decent cash flow.  

A Qualified Joint Venture (§761(f)(2) )allows two spouses operating a business together to not file a partnership return; however the business can't be held as a state entity (§301.7701-2) like an LLC and it also requires material participation by each spouse under §469(h) which can be hard with a SFH. 

We found that by more or less falling on our sword and saying, "Hey, we want you guys happy... tell us what you need from us" they were more than helpful and once we had contractors they liked on board the process went perfectly smoothly.I don't live near you so can't help with your locale... but hopefully some of it helps!

If you go that route, ensure to use a Qualified Intermediary to handle the sale/purchase otherwise there will be no 1031 exchange. 

The program is designed to assist low-income families, and these benchmarks might exclude a lot of qualified people.That said, the requirement for stable rental and work history is reasonable, but you might consider relaxing the credit score or income requirements since Section 8 guarantees a portion of the rent.

So I require skin in the game (average is 5% to 15%) to offset this.