I've read a lot about the many tax deductions you can write-off with investment properties (ie: depreciation, travel, cell phone, repairs, home office, property mngt to name a few).  

They may have a cell phone but that's all they use it for is phone calls and maybe pictures. 

When a guest checks in, I just turn off the notifications to my cell phone.   

The two criteria you mention mean that the max amount you can receive for the loan corresponds to whichever is the lower of those two numbers.  

You did bring up a good point that no of these things really need to be done from a cellphone. 

Someone just posted my cellphone number with a free laptop on Craigslist.The phone rings every 20 seconds.Text messages are constant.Wow, now I know how to conduct a cell phone denial of service campaign.I started answering some of the calls.

Can it go to your cell phone any way or is it just the home phone?

Buy whichever ones they have that actually look interesting (I believe in supporting brick and mortar bookstores, because I love browsing in them.)

The rule for about 40 years that I know of has always been within one year, the appraised value or the cost of acquisition (including repairs for hard costs), which ever is less and after one year the loan is based on the appraised value.

At best, problems in your Massachusetts properties will fall under Mass law and at worst you will have to comply with both states' laws, yielding to whichever is more restrictive.