I'm hoping that at the very least, my one marketable skill (flying) will add some value to his endeavors as well to compensate for my complete lack of relevant experience in this realm.It's ironic I have a friend with a couple of wood-based businesses in Monmouth who was interested in timberland investing like Jay describes on his show.  

So if you have the time to exploit this market inefficiency, and/or are just a freaking top 1% salesperson, absolutely go for the off-market stuff as a buyer, because these aggregate averages aren't relevant to you.

In general, yes they are capitalized and amortized, but below is a link to the relevant section on the IRS website.

I have my first property under contract in Ohio, the lease I have used in the past (from IL.) is not state relevant. 

Also I'm located in TX if that is relevant in any way.

If will be relevant to what additional rent.

These are roughly $20 to attend, but will give you a clearer picture as to what's relevant to the success of the active investors.  

@Michael Abernathy The answer is relevant to your situation.

Ok, now that you have taken your initial step, below are some quick links to get engaged. http://www.biggerpockets.com/starthere http://www.biggerpockets.com/ubg http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet Setting up Keyword Alerts How to Use @Mentions on BiggerPockets 25 Tips for Real Estate SuccessREI can be very daunting, but, before you go searching for that 1st buy, please take a few minutes to bone up on the tips in link below.http://www.realestate.com/advice/buying-your-first-investment-property/ However, this site thrives on interactions and as such we encourage two way exchanges and look forward to educational and thought provoking ideas relevant to REI.

I will remember to come back to this thread when I have a relevant update!