Your grit and determination to see the project through from beginning to end is very encouraging.

I hate it but I usually eat the cost unless it's very easy to determine. 

It is called a TBD - to be determined.

Who is bringing the action will determine which mortgage will still be on the property after you buy or which other lenders may show up to bid to cover their junior mortgages. 

The 250 hour safe harbor is not the best determination.

But I know that there are more things than a hunch to determine if an investor is a real investor or just a fraud. 

Assuming that’s true, how is the appraiser determining the value if there’s no implied purchase cost to include in their evaluation since this is a refi scenario?

Since then, I had him as CPA, now going on for 30 years.When I didn't have a CPA, with several businesses, you often have a accounting and tax question, and I try to look it up on the internet, ask friends, not always to best way to get the best answer.

The purpose of line 2 on schedule E is to determine the split between rental and personal.

It's everything that comes after that which determines whether the property is worth pursuing in the first place.