I guess if it was easy, everyone would do it. 

It's easy to get sidetracked in this business with all the different types of lead sources.  

They don't seem to want to take the easy way out, they probably think they're going to get their security deposit back.

Estimating ARV is very easy.

You can see how it would be very easy to get into negative cash flow in the lenders eyes after takin off 25% of your rental income, especially in LA.

Norman around the university and midtown/inner city northside with the hipsters, OCU, and the med school has to be an easy buck or two.

It's not quite as lucrative as flipping but it seems like a relatively easy way to lock up 1.5-2% returns in less than 48 hours help lol!

Either house hacking like that or with a duplex you live in and can put a small downpayment on should be an easy way to get started.

Repairs, are what depend on being "placed in service".So ultimately, (you assume no liability here for tax advice) best practice is to itemize receipts so that at the end of the year, it's easy to determine what was a repair and what was an improvement.Currently I have a lump sum figure, not itemized.  

If you have a minimum water/sewer charge, that's usually easy to apportion - let's say it's $20/month for the meter, minimum, with no water usage.