Landlord would try to extract(deduct) for at least something(keep in mind, there is no damage).mail When asked about the key to the mail box, landlord, who do not live at the place said he is "not going to give a key to tenants(?)

Seems as though the standards aren't always the same.

If you can sit down, like an REI, put your team together and be confident in your methods to reduce expenses and costs and reduce standard times, there should be a reflection of those events in your bids, which will get more assets into your strike zone.

When they find you a prospective tenant, you are able to run additional background checks yourself to verify they meet your standards.

If you employer does allow loans you would be paying yourself interest that you can deduct on the investment.

If it's an investment property & you want to make it really interesting....separate the land & home @ the time of purchase.Own the land in another entity (or by your kids)now you lease it back....you get the depreciation of the 'improvement' (home) & you get to take the land lease deduction, esp worth it if the land is a significant $ value as per the assessor.Around here we found land values can be high because of the larger tracts of land.

But you wouldn't do payroll deductions or send yourself a w-2.Tax laws could be changing soon.

It was polliticians (I'm not specifying a party, this isn't a political discussion) that pushed the banks to lower standards, and people took advantage of it.

Talk to a Realtor, then deduct 10% from what they say (they are always optimistic.)

Could I also deduct costs associated with repairs?