I just downloaded the Home and Business 2018 version.My question is:  How do I record what will later be tax deductions as common expenses? 

The paperwork can be a hassle but having a loan with timely payments helps your credit score and helps you build credibility, not only with bankers but also friends, family, colleagues, etc.Once you have a proven track record of buying and managing rentals, you can explore the private money options (from those same friends, family, and colleagues). 

And why have an eviction on their record when all they have to do is give me proof they have no more claim on the unit. 

If they are losing it anyway then a short sale would save their credit a little bit verses a foreclosure on their record.

Now there will be a filing of a court case in the records and anyone in the future looking at one of your houses for sale can research you.  

Notes are not recorded in Texas(they can be but as a matter of practice they are not)Normally the foreclosure process is very simple and straightforward in Texas and can be accomplished in as little as 41 days is the timing is perfect(Foreclosures only happen one day per month in Texas, the first Tuesday). 

Look up the owners info in the county tax records (free access online in Texas) and contact them.

I went with him to his lawyers office who helped him with the bankruptcy and he said that my neighbor has until the sheriffs sale to sell the home or move out, implying to me that he could still sell the home.We tried finding out who serviced the loan and who owned the loan through our county records department and even they said that the chain of custody of the loan was unclear and unfinished, likely due to the fact that the title company, servicer, and mortgage company that owned the loan all went bankrupt within the last 10 years.

Let's keep that track record in mind, and not forget that Ben Carson works for a real estate mogul president, before concluding that everything is secret socialism being snuck in the back door.

How is your seller owner financing this deal if he's not the record owner?