How would you like to be a tenant waiting on a repair because the owner wants 3 bids for everything and not only will that delay the repairs, but you'll have 3 people coming through your home everytime you make a maintenance request?

I believe you can deduct the other business expenses (home office, supplies, repairs, maintenance etc) - but the bulk of it (depreciation) is likely passed on to later years.So first house 2021 - I'll assume 250k purchase price and you put roughly 20% or 50k down. 

Thats a great way to profit of $177K in a year but she did know the contractors and the has an eye for those type of quick turn arounds.You will see multifamily 2-4 units a ton of duplex 2 units for under $250K again these are usually not turnkey fully renovated properties but they will pass an appraisal without being subject to any major repairs.

it does allow you to repair things outside of the home to a limit. 

(Property Meld for one)--- Owners often think a PMC can just enter a tenant's home to make repairs, but don't really understand the potential legal issues of entering when a tenant is not home.--- Owners don't understand the percentage of maintenance appointments tenants miss!

Telling sellers everything wrong with their house and justifying your offer with repair costs doesn’t build trust—it kills it.

The previous owner started to repair it.Looks a little rough, but we’ll get her all fixed up.

I feel like the seller would wait and I could just buy it in cash since I do plan to refinance it anyway and pull out the equity once I’ve done some repairs/upgrades.

They'd be much better off being a Hard Money Lender and make 5 times that (and every repair to their "investment house" is paid by them...So, if you put $10k down on a property and make $150/month net cash flow your Coc Return (annualized) is 18% which is Very Good.If you followed that and understand it then keep looking for a deal.

This can be especially helpful if you’re uncertain about repair assumptions or costs.If it’s a contractor you’ve worked with multiple times, involving them early in the process is often beneficial.