It's held up surprisingly well.

@Adam Sha as @Becca F. mentioned, Class C isn't for everyone.Traditionally, going back 30 years, investors bought Class B properties as rentals and held them to gentrify.It's only in the last 5-6 years we've seen investors buying Class C - and many unfortunately, don't know what they are doing.With $180k you could buy a nice Class B rental in Metro Detroit.

@JJ WilliamsI would not take their equipment... at that point you can probably be held liable for theft.  

Some of the ones I've talked to are in really bad situations and being held hostage by their managers who are making it so difficult to get out of their contracts which is forcing them to drown.

In the past, smaller taxpayers such as yourself held a disproportionately higher audit risk since it's a lot faster to audit the little guy which makes their numbers look better.

Is that a metal lid from a 5 gallon pail I see on the top?

I’m considering using materials such as wood, PVC, conduit, or metal pipes, combined with canvas, tarp, or plastic for the covering.

Woody's business started at the time he purchased the 1st property or at the time he held it out for rent, because, in any event, the expenses in question here all occurred before the purchase date, i.e., before December 30If the earliest possible date investor was actively carrying on a trade or business was December 30, 2004, then any expenses incurred in that year but incurred “before the day on which the active trade or business” began, all the expenses incurred from January 1 through December 29, 2004--would be, by definition, start-up expenses whose deductibility, and possible amortization, is expressly dealt with by section 195(Start up amortization).

You both end up with property held in an LLC without losing money on agent commissions, taxes, etc.

If it is considered real estate ownership in Florida, I am told that it must pass through probate unless it is held in a living trust.