I had no idea who we were working with as I was lead to believe it was one of his clients from his tax business.

Payments $492 (interest, tax, insurance) currently owe $51K.

Lower property taxes, affordable housing compared to LA (CA buyers are usually cash buyers because what they net from their smaller home in CA can get them a bigger home here, often covered by what they net from their CA sale), allergies (smog), and politics. 

A lot of Chicago workers are moving to this area to escape IL taxes and politics.

You are looking at the rent of $2,000 and mortgage (Loan, Insurance, and Taxes) of $18000 and thinking you have $200 cash-flow.

The tax advantages of buying/holding gas stations are pretty great.Many of the components of gas stations including pumps, tanks, external parking areas, and other equipment are classified as either 5 or 15 year property so you can bonus depreciate a lot of it (minus the land value) and get significant deductions in year 1.With the 2025 bonus depreciation rate at 40%, a $1 million gas station acquisition could still lead to $100K+ in year 1 deductions depending on the specifics of your deal.

Some are owned by my ROTH IRA and are making tax free cashflow.

Add another $300 or so for taxes and insurance and you're at $2465 PITI. 

Is it tax smart? 

Rents may be high, but where are taxes and insurance.