There definitely is better but I wouldn’t say one is bad." ....This is a misconception that gets many in trouble. 

That's one of the fastest ways to lose money. 

Quote from @James Boreno: One of my SFH caught on fire and I'm in the process of selling it to a contractor.

One I know is based in LA as that's a huge market of course..

For your $240K new-build townhouse, a cost seg may make sense if the tax savings outweigh the study cost (~$3K–$6K), especially since you plan to hold it for 10+ years and can benefit from immediate bonus depreciation.For the $380K older townhouse, cost seg with look-back depreciation could provide significant one-time deductions for missed depreciation over the past six years.

Once you have done 100-200 deals you can really estimate in you head when you see a deal, so that 100 turns to 5 good ones within minutes and then 1 to get under contact with you to put an offer in. 

@Chris Mahoo, rule one of investing: if the investment only makes sense because of the "tax advantages" it is NOT a good investment.  

Ive owned a 3 family in Fitchburg MA for 4 years that has done exceptionally well with it, living for free in one unit for a while and constantly upgrading the property over the years.

I use this property and another one as my business line of credit. 

Im currently house hacking a triplex property I bought not too long ago with one inherited tenant who was there when I bought the property.