Based on the information provided, you can only claim a capital loss when you actually sell or dispose of your REIT investment, not when the REIT simply returns a portion of your principal.

Will they base their calculations solely on the income from the two legal units and disregard the non-conforming basement?

I want to be able to find potential markets/listings nationally based on the return. 

I'm based in WI and there are several people from NY investing here, some successful and some not---the common thread I see from the ones that are not is that they relied on someone else for information instead of investigating, VERIFYING and doing their own due diligence. 

Alternative Lenders – Look for private lenders or debt funds that focus on asset-based lending rather than borrower experience.

I would only underwrite based on actual rents not proforma.

I recommend that you find a trusted or recommended Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO), who can give you options for property-based loans (mostly investment loans) and they don't use your taxes but the P&L of the property.

Across the board, the worse the neighborhood, the better the cash flow, the better the neighborhood, the trade off for tenants base, better schools, low crime, etc etc.

Since you're in Texas, I'll use a town like:  Each town will be different based on the population living outside of town. 

All the add-ons are a la carte so you can definitely get a lot of value based on what you need.One thing I personally don't like is that when tenants pay rent, they are charged $1 per transaction for ACH use.