There was an oil boom in the region that directly impacted the real estate.

To answer your question more directly - I think you can as long as you meet the minimum heat requirements... 

Motivated sellers sometimes tend to “forget” about a lien or a judgement or two, so it’s always wise to do both a tital search and setup an escrow company to facilitate the payments directly to the mortgage company if there is one.

They usually point you in the general correct direction.  

You need someone that's liable for their directive.

Hi everyone,I'm hoping to either get pointed in the right direction for a lender, or get some feedback on a question of whether I should consider "trading up" out of the property I own.I own a duplex in Richmond, Ca that I purchased in March of 2017 for $362,000.

They give tenants permission to contact those individuals directly any time they are unavailable.

As such you may be eligible to capitalize/deduct expenses directly related to the investment property and those that are indirectly related to the investment property.Items normally paid to acquire a property such as a home inspection and title costs are capitalized and depreciated over its useful life.

@Karen Margrave  who you probably know from BP she ran into this in Oregon as well.. its quite confusing to those of us that came from CA like Karen and I and there you don't need a developers license.. but you need a Real estate license to make any kind of middle man fee.. same in Oregon.I finally got tired of is this legal or not and sent in  a copy of a direct E mail piece I got from a Quote un Quote wholesaler in Oregon that I knew was not licensed and did not own the property here is the response I got from the state.State of Oregon - Real Estate AgencyFrances Hlawatsch | Financial InvestigatorBest regards,Thank you again for the information, if I have further questions for you during the investigation I will certainly reach out.The Agency is well aware that unlicensed “wholesalers” are rampant in our jurisdiction.

I also agree with @Greg Scott, talking to your lawyer will give you a better insight and direction to go.