When you BRRR a property, since you can get ones that are in really rough shape and need to be rehabbed, can you deduct and depreciate those expenses off your taxes or do you just eat the expense?  

If you don’t have the money to pay all of it use the difficulty of collecting to work out a payment plan.I am not saying you should make a habit of pulling a trump on contractors, but there is a reason when tenants trash houses everyone here says take the security deposit and eat the rest—it’s a pita to collect.

I work with a bunch of different lenders, so I try to give advice that has the broadest possible application, since we don't always know who the lender will be on the N+1 deal two years from now.So my suggestion to you, to have your cake and eat it too, for that SFR that you want to rent by the room to maximize rent: have one lease, one tenant.... and that one tenant is allowed to sublet.

Are they eating a little too well right now? 

Most of my renters eat together in the living room in front of the TV, or they may eat breakfast at a kitchen counter.

Of course, this is going to depend on how many points you're willing to eat for buy down (break even analysis timeline is a must), but either way, mid 9%s is at least 1-2% high.  

If not I'd just put a new one in and eat the cost.

Is this one that I have to eat?

The issue with HELOCs right now is that the rate is around 9-10% which will seriously eat into the profitability.

I can set up the rent payments, collect them into easy-to-create bank accounts, and then have the system automatically categorize those payments for my Schedule E at the end of the year because Baselane already knows what each of the payments was.