@Luke Masaschi, while the pathway to easing the ADU conversion process is underway in NY, I believe CA is leading the pack.That said, NY law requires a minimum ceiling height of 7 ft. and requires 2ft to be above street level.

The agent should also fill them in on the current market conditions and a brief history recap of the market.Then guide them through the buyers process and explain any docs/contracts the buyer will be using.Big popular teams are fine.They will typically have you work with newbie agents they use for buyers.

I can't even make sense of buying and investing in properties here without having to shed huge money up front. 

If so, I'm assuming we'd have to then go through the foreclosure process, which is what we want to avoid.

Objectively, it doesn’t seem like waiting for rates to come down would make a huge impact in the current economy.

What does your process look like when choosing markets?

You will be eliminating a tax break that can be hugely beneficial to you as you enter retirement.You're most financially beneficial option would be to sell those properties and do 1031 exchanges into other real estate that is passive in nature. 

@Trace Martin - Dallas is a huge area and neighborhoods vary depending on what kind of lifestyle you want and your budget.

@Gary Adams huge tax benefits, unlimited depreciation

I'm looking to see if someone has a step by step process for finding finding the right market/deal or really any information on what sites/resources to use as I search.