Reed Goossens Reed has great material and posts in BP in this subject.

You can do all the work yourself and the cost of materials will be either deductible or capitalized, however, you'll have to pro rate it against the rental portion of the home.Since your fiancé is not legally married to you, the rent she pays is considered rental income and you are then allowed to deduct a potion of your costs associated with the rental portion of the home.

Eduard,Become an avid study of the material available on Bigger Pockets.  

Worst case you can at least offer to pay for the cost of the materials on a credit card which would leave you only having to pay cash for the labor.

Please see below for the breakdown: Current state appraisal value: $270,000Value after renovations: $330,000 (using a 2 mile radius)Mortgage debt: $78,110.34Credit line: $130,000Credit line fee: $100Interest rate on credit line: 3.5% (can freeze rate three times) Labor quoted by contractor: $50,000 (doesn’t include window replacements as not yet quoted)Materials: ???

Passive activity loss rules prevent investors from using losses incurred from income-producing activities in which they are not materially involved.Being materially involved with earned or ordinary income-producing activities means the income is active income and may not be reduced by passive losses.

Unfortunately forums are often just a venue for bragging and self promotion instead of an area for cultivating friendships and helping others.

They took poor advice promoting illegal activities:) We have a REIA in our area that is doing the same thing.

Hi Tom.. search BP forum and you'll find in depth answers, but on avg it is (assuming up to 1500 sq ft)$35/ft (DIY and buying materials on discount)$50/ft (hiring out most stuff, medium grade finish)$75/ft (high end finishes; hiring all work out)Exterior.. if brick.. powerwash and repoint.. look around online/in neighborhoods (esp when it warms up)..

How did they get started, Do you have any body that I can speak to that you have done business with, and last but not least do you invest and or manage properties the areas you are promoting.