The IRA funds would not be able to be combined with other personal funds as in your note above. 

Additionally, I proposed introducing new retail products, and the owner has offered me a 40% share in return for my expertise in retail.

They are saying if a person lived on the property for more than 14 days contiguously then their damages can't be considered vandalism.

Would I be able to deduct depreciation against my personal w2 income without having rental income for the year? 

I have about $300 on my credit cards (just finally paid them off for the most part, and have about $20,000 limit).My cash on hand is relatively light, but what my plan was was to find some single family homes in the north Detroit area (currently anywhere from $40-$60k and put about $15-20k tops into any repairs or fixes (not looking for total rehabs, mostly something I can do some small repairs here and there and paint, personally I am knowledgeable about renovating up until complex electric and plumbing).

Most of the sites I've found seem to be more targeted towards investors, and not the person bringing the deal opportunity.

I now get monthly emails with updates to my home's estimated value, along with metrics such as how much rental income the property could generate.Their pricing algorithm is a blackbox to me, so I can't endorse the product.

Hi Adam,If you hold a license and have been through the purchase process before with other agents, I personally would be open to doing it myself (I am also an agent and have done this very thing).

We have our own personal home, but are interested in the idea of having some rental properties to generate additional income and build wealth. 

The common area language should dictate that personal items are not stored in common areas, it may also address maintenance of those areas, but you will need to amend it to address outdoor furniture and grills.