Then, of course, visit real property/tax department for past due/current payment status of all taxes.

They handle the baltimore city tax sale you can see that at BidBaltimore.com.

Finding and screening good renters can help avoid issues and most problems to an extent.

Looking for advice on how to maximize tax benefits on an upcoming conversion of my primary home to a long term rental (temporarily).

The best part about it is it's easy to tag your transactions for each property with categories that sync to your Schedule E for taxes, making tax prep super easy.

Long-Term: Appreciation, loan amortization, potential tax benefits, and housing expense savings.I'd say the unexpected benefits of learning property management, deal finding, project management, renovations, and DIY-ing were more impactful than I initially thought.

Depreciation for tax purposesThe amount of annual depreciation OVERLY offset my net income on the property.

The other thing to consider is the tax implications.

Can they be used to cover or prepay the property taxes?

If you finance at 25% down, 25 year amortization and a 7% rate you will not cover mortgage and interest let alone insurance, taxes, vacancy, repair, etc.