The loan does need to be secured by the property being improved if we are talking about a personal residence and personal itemized deductions on Schedule A.

Also -without an in service rental, you have no schedule on your tax return on which to deduct those expenses. 

Start by scheduling a walk-through to assess the property and confirm renovation needs.

Here is some key information:Property recently hit the market and has 2 cash offers alreadyThe seller provided a pre-inspection report, which I shared with 2 different lenders, both think it may fail conventional financing due to potential structural and electrical issues (realtor thinks it could pass conventional)Seller has 100% equity but is behind on other payments (not sure of the urgency money is needed)This is my first attempt at an “investment” property so I’m new to thisI see 3 optionsMove forward with an offer using conventional loan pre-qualification-Not as attractive of an offer to the seller-Possibility that appraiser calls out structural/electrical issues that need to be fixed before closing, effectively causing financing to fail- Best terms and fewest loan fees for meUse a rehab style loan such as ChoiceRenovation-Even less attractive than a conventional offer to seller, but less risk of failed financing if appraiser calls out issues-Slightly worse fees and interest rates compared to conventional-Lenders tell me possibly up to 60-90 days closing in some cases, with red-tape for contractor requirements and draw schedules (sounds like the most hoops to jump through during rehab)Use a hard money lender-Most attractive loan option I can give to seller so I can compete-Much higher fees and interest rate for me-need to refinance into a conventional at the end of rehab (not familiar with seasoning periods but I think this is a factor as well)Which option would you do?

I work outside of the US (Hong Kong), making slightly north of 100k per year, with scheduled salary bumps of approximately 4k per year. 

Making effort a top priority, I was able to put up some satisfying numbers.On the phone [from 11 July 2024]:📞 11,005 Calls🏘️ 2317 Addresses Reached📌 50* Leads Generated🔎 7* Properties to due diligence phase📆 2 Scheduled Closes💰 1 Closed*Denotes: Database did not track metric from Day 1.The last 6 months have given the groundwork to build on.  

Rental income and expenses, such as mortgage interest, property taxes, repairs, and depreciation, can be reported on Schedule E of your personal tax return, regardless of ownership structure. 

I think THIS can be better than a 1031 exchange because the seller will start off with a fresh depreciation schedule in the new property.

Make sure the estimates are very detailed (scope, SF, $/sf, schedule, etc) to ensure that there is a clear dilation between contract work and change orders.

They might be fine managing new construction, but I have seem MANY investors almost tank from their fee schedule on managing older homes...i would compare it to almost predatory practice.