But I'm guessing my lawyer would say that if changing the locks were the only violation, that I could be on thin ice if the tenant supplied keys and fought the lease termination in court...

Until it is paid the IRS can attach to John's assets in order to create a collection opportunity.If John has equity the lien will be paid from the proceeds.  

Buy it at the court house steps, get it free and clear of the other liens he is not paying.

If the lease has terminated you can move to eviction but you must provide the proper legal notice in order to get a court date (probably a full 30 days).

But, I know as an accountant, that I need to make sure the setup is right before proceeding.  

I purchased my first rental property (single family) a year ago and won my first court eviction on Monday!

I think the guidelines are all drawn from the court rulings, but with no actual case law.

I also doubt any court would find you negligent as a property owner for any incident with a police dog under the control of the handler, and the handler is always controlling the animal, even if he leaves the dog inside and runs to the store. :) 

The situation is as follows:- I owned and lived in this home for 25+ years- 7 years ago we moved to Idaho for work reasons, and rented out the property- We plan to come back in a few years (4 max)- I recently learned that I could subdivide this property and build 2 new homes (and have been working on that; it is now approved and soon to be subdivided)- I have an offer on the property that is high enough for me to consider selling instead of developing myself- Since I can sell the property before subdividing, there is an opportunity to keep my low tax basis via Prop 60/90 (I'm 55)- Since we are not coming back for a couple of years, I also want to take advantage of the 1031 exchange rule, and purchase a replacement home with the proceeds, then rent until we returnWith the above in mind, is there any way to keep my low property tax basis, not using the home currently as my primary residence?

Actual rehab and closing costs, no......they get deducted from the sales proceeds to determine profit.