While this can land you in potential audit risk, I think you're in the clear here. 

If it's an (A) location you do not need 1.5 years especially to land a franchisee restaurant tenant.When I look at a property I look at the current value, the dark value, and the re-potential value.Lot of commercial developers sell off marginal tenants at market rents.Example me buying a Wal-mart with 10 plus years left at a 7 cap is way different than trampoline or workout place at a 9 cap.On its face the 9 cap may be appealing but then you find out for that box size the crap tenant is paying 1 dollar below what national tenants pay.

If your fear is on a 30 year time horizon, then your lens should also equally look at the potential upside down the road over 30 years. 

It had terrible photos and looked like a ton of work...which it was, but I saw the potential.

It's understandable to have reservations, but don't let excuses hinder your potential for passive income and wealth growth!

I do agree with you that investors must absolutely consult with their legal and tax advisors before entering into any of these tax-deferral strategies to ensure they understand the potential risks involved, including the risk of being disallowed by the California FTB.  

Now someone has hijacked my ad, is using the same pics and description but with a different phone number and email address.One potential tenant called and told me about it, after she looked at the ad yesterday she noticed the price change this morning.

You may not be able to back out of contract to save your escrow deposit and I’m no lawyer, but if you’re doing inspection and it’s totally jacked up and it can potentially clean out your account and portfolio.

How do you find someone to show the unit to potential renters? 

While evaluating potential investment properties these past few weeks, I have realized that the average rent in Austin is comparatively lower and due to high interest rates and property tax, the outcome is mostly negative cash flow.