Depending on the level of your income, rental tax loss through depreciation may even lower your AGI.

This meant that the appraiser would then take the current rents, which couldn't service the higher debt level.

You have to find another source-either a distressed property, something you can improve and up the value to another level, or perhaps develop relationships with brokers and wholesalers who will bring a deal to you because they know you as someone who has the ability to close.

Neighborhood doesn't look like a war zone, the $25k in likely rehab may care some people off as an investment in this level of property. 

You are looking at about $250k-$275k for a piggy back 2 level Townhouse.Ray

But I was just discussing with @Brendan Lawrence just last week, that now with a certain amount of wealth, maybe it is time to shift towards taking on some more risk in the portfolio after getting over a hump of a getting to a net worth with a certain comfort level. 

I do not think my market will have much of a decline, but just leveling off and making sellers more reasonable would be nice.

Landlords can become tired and complacent over time...............one or more units stay unfilled for an extended period, or rents are left at existing levels due to laziness-it happens! 

In the entire building those board were the only ones that were not physically removed or chemically stripped.I do know that XRF will detect that lead and have been told that I should notify an inspector/risk assessor of that situation otherwise it will be assumed that the surface of those boards are painted with lead paint.It is notable too that in the year ~1990 I had a blood level of 8 ug/dl. 

This is usually leveled out by asking for higher deposit in the hopes that this will cover at least some repairs or missed rent payments.