And his life. 

I know that depreciation deductions are spread out over the “useful life” of a property.

Once a landlord gets into leaving "a somewhat decent bottle of wine" and any sort of Martha Stewart branded product for a tenant (@Jill F. you made me laugh out loud), I just have to throw up my hands and walk away from all this aspirational parvenu nonsense.The very best wine I've had in my life was sold for ten euros for a 1.5 liter PET water bottle of it out of a big old glass νταμιτζάνα in my second cousin's buddy's shed on a tiny Greek island you've never heard of.

Is it better financially in life to own a house or rent?

I am not familiar with any other states as I've lived in NYC my entire life. 

Such is life in real estate. 

I regularly listen to the BiggerPockets podcasts, have read "Set for Life" and "The Book on Rental Property Investing" and I am eager to continue learning about the world of Real Estate Investing. 

Lived in East Providence for most of my life.

This means I need to buy products that have a good life span but are reasonably priced enough to make a profit.

BiggerPockets was thought up for someone like you, with your needs.In the culture I was raised in, there is a very old tradition to do absolutely nothing, make no major life decisions, until 40 days after a loss.