Originally posted by @Scott Morongell:@Salome Ditmars Brian gave you a bunch of excellent resources.

I want to ensure their experience is excellent in all areas.

Excellent feedback, thank you @Kevin Sobilo

To add to your excellent points, it’s also important to consider the tax implications of a 401k loan.

I look for liens that will be removed or that may stay, ownership history, platting, zoning, exit strategies, cost & profit analyses, and above all else; I physically look over the property.

It would be smart to do a full lease audit, estoppels issued, and tenant interviews.And if you are buying cash, there is nothing mandatory, since it is your money at risk. but again, physical condition inspections, understanding of tenants (they are a great source of information about issues with the property that the landlord may not know or may not disclose), surveys to understand accurate property lines, etc.

There is much to learn: pricing, marketing, screening, contract law, lease enforcement, late/unpaid rent, property abandonment, squatters, maintenance, tenant neglect or abuse, communication, and 417 other things.Buying a decent property but not managing it well can impact your finances, marriage, sanity, physical health, and desire to invest.

If you are an elite actor or athlete or executive, NYC allows you the option to do nothing but excel at that.

To be honest, this is an excellent example of WHY I am so obsessed with Real Estate Investing vs all other forms. 

Bonus depreciation is just a special part of the US tax code.It allows you to take accelerated depreciation on portions of your property depending on when an asset is put into service.At the time of this writing, you can write off a huge portion (60% in 2024) of many qualified components that have a useful lifespan of 15 years or less.That means a certain percentage of things like landscaping, sidewalks, latches, appliances, fences, certain flooring, etc is depreciable in year 1.The bonus depreciation rate percentage changes yearly depending on the administration and the tax code.For years 2015 through 2017 first-year depreciation for all the items on a 15-year schedule or less was set to 50%.It was scheduled to go down to 40% in 2018 and 30% in 2019 and then 0% in 2020.But then Trump got elected, and he enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.That moved the bonus depreciation percentage to 100% from 2017 to 2022.In 2023 it went down to 80% and it’s currently at 60%.Depending on who gets elected again, 100% may be back on the table.Only time will tell.We know that the US government wants to incentivize more development and ownership of RE.They want Americans to continue to build and maintain our physical world.That’s why real estate is one of the most tax-advantaged assets in the US.Depreciation and bonus depreciation for RE are very positive and will likely continue in the years ahead.