@Yasmin Sharbaf if it’s not new construction, your agent would usually have shown you current tax records including what they list as square footage, especially if that was a known concern of yours.

If I pulled to put on a rental property for around 200k then after property tax, property management, mortgage, insurance I’d probably be cash flowing much less than my 5.5% at the moment. 

Do they leverage the purchase for taxes and depreciation?

I recommend CA residents look at Reno, Nevada because of the proximity, landlord friendly, low property taxes, and influx of high wage jobs and strong appreciation. 

Given the flexibility of our jobs, which offers nationwide opportunities, we have the privilege of choosing our permanent address anywhere in the country while remaining compliant with IRS regulations regarding tax homes.Initially, our aim was to purchase property in the Portsmouth, Durham, or Salem areas of New Hampshire.

Trying to keep the logic simple if every house you own you can deduct 3 main categories on your taxes (property taxes, depreciation, mortgage interest) if I paid off a house I would make more with only two primary deductions.  

Tax Write OffsSo even if you aren't getting the positive cash flow, you are potentially making it up in the other ways.

Plan on living there between 1-2 yrs while making improvements, and renting out other parts of the house if possible.  2 years for tax benefits, 1 year for lender obligation before you move on to another purchase.

Roth funds can be withdrawn tax/penalty free.

They can switch to transaction broker but that means not offering advice or coaching either side, and they've already coached the seller as their fiduciary up to that point thus far, so it opens them up to a lot of liability... hard to serve 2 masters when those 2 masters have opposing interests.