They include any costs incurred during a general search for, or preliminary investigation of, a business or investment possibility.The costs you had in your attempt to acquire or begin a specific business.

I am in preliminary negotiations with an elderly man (85 years old) to purchase a fourplex using owner financing. 

@Rene DunnaganIf you're saying you've spent $25k just to "learn" and "set things up", without actually buying a property, I'm a little shocked.

Like Emily said, a number of shocking facts (or not so shocking to many landlords) have come out in the press recently on how few Americans can come up with a thousand or even four hundred dollar in an emergency....A FINRA study on The Financial Fragility of Renters was just one (with lots of stats).So no downpayment is a big one, as is credit score, and even with those who have resources, they  may want the flexibility to move or freedom from extra work or costs of maintaining and repairing the home.Even items like student loan debt or fear about the economy hold others back (still some out there who feel the sting of the housing bust).

People with this train of thought shock me.

A few preliminary questions are outlined below.Some questions to ask broker:What is the unit mix (number of 1Bed, 2Bed, etc.)?

I remember someone from a podcast used preliminary advertising to test the demand for rentals.

Have started to analyze some deals, and was SHOCKED at the awful ROIs I was seeing.  

I am a new investor looking for cashflow rental properties, and from my preliminary search Milwaukee looks like a great option.I am from Southern California, so I am aware that you will need a local PM for this area, and thats fine.However, one issue is I dont know the good areas of town. 

If you have a specific property in mind you can get a free preliminary title from the title agency that you intend to purchase your title insurance policy from.