My plan is actually to do a test run so I hope to be able to report back, but thought I would ask others as I haven't seen anyone (yet) that put an actual (tentative of course) offer on a postcard.My mailer list will be a combination of parcels that 1) have been more researched, so I feel comfortable putting a quote based on Market Value from Assessor lists, comps from recent sales, etc. and 2) those with less data available - these wont get a "quote" postcard but a more neutral message. 

I probably analyzed about 20 different cities in 150 mile radius from NYC until I found a market I had a good feeling for...in my case I was lucky to find a tired landlord that just wanted to get rid of the house after evicting a tenant...having analyzed so many houses in the area I saw immediately it was priced well and was able to make an offer within 2 days...appraisal came couple of Ks higher then accepted offer...Bottom line it is a combination of luck supported by lots of education and preparation.Good Luck

That often equals up to 30%+ of the total of the purchase price & rehab amounts combined. 

If they are disregarded, and the properties are filed on Schedule E of your personal tax return - then you can combine 1099s, using your SSN (not recommended) or your EIN.

Debit cards are modern.

Between the two of us, our combined income is only $80k so we are under the $109k threshold to have mortgage insurance still be tax deductible.  

As an alternative, but far more "expensive", consider a highly leveraged bridge for investors like yourself.   90% of purchase + 90% of rehab costs (so long at combined loan is less than 70% of ARV) at 10-12% interest.    

I am thinking no because I believe I saw somewhere that you can't combine any/all of these safe harbors, but I'm not sure.What about the paint, furniture and things like a hot tub? 

Or can they be combined?

Then combine that with market forces pushing many people into the same areas of the country, where you cannot build fast enough to satiate demand for the next 5-10 yrs, and construction costs rising meaning new supply will have to charge a lot more to be financially feasible, conflicting government sentiment to help alleviate the costs (whether it be not subsidizing developers, or not subsidizing tenants).