I currently work with a CPA who does not specialize in real estate tax, and I'm second guessing some of the answers she gave me recently that pertain to tax treatment of our rental properties. 

I have already located a townhome that is eligible for full time non owner occupied short term rental and currently listed at $250,000 dollars. 

Shockingly someone is open to it but they want $5,000 non refundable earnest money if my financing falls through.

If you are looking for a deal to invest in and you are not accredited, you will not find anything out there as solicitation is prohibited by the exemptions that allow for non-accredited investors.

I need some sources for a heloc on a non-owner 4-plex in CA. 

She doesnt take any medications.

@Harrison CookYour post kindles lots of questions.In the "good old-days" most heating systems were vastly oversized for the building they were heating - energy was relatively cheap, insulation was non-existant to poor ... so it was easier and safer to {drastically} oversize.Today, while energy {in North America}  is still relatively cheap for the moment,  we have a much better understanding of how to make buildings more efficient {though you might not think so looking at the construction industry in the U.S.A. and Canada}  and there are often more cost-effective measures than simply replacing an old, over-sized heating plant with a new, over-sized heating plant.You really need to - or at lease should -  perform a heat load analysis to properly size your heating system, a component of which, is determining the rate of heat loss of the building envelope.  

During this period the tenant handles all property management.right agreed.. but that does not give the person that posted this the ability to buy with no money ... this guy already owned it. its just tax treatment.  

I had read that some VA loans can be assumed by non-vets, so I figured it was worth a try.

The only way you can be certain that a particular asset is left to a non-spouse is if you own it as separate property.