In the absence of an appraisal, when purchasing buildings that include the cost of the underlying land, you must allocate the total purchase price between the land and the buildings to determine the depreciation basis for the buildings.

That should be a solid way to talk to potential sellers every day.

They need to give 24 hours' notice (unless you agree to a shorter time on a case by case basis). 

I was able to get in at a lower cost basis, and the property didn't cash flow while I was living there (this is a common misconception with house hacking) but I lived almost for free - Only had to kick in a few hundred bucks a month. 

People still want what they want and everyday that goes by more and more folks feel entitled to that WANT.

Downpayment isn't straight deductible as it is just built into the basis of the property since it is part of what you pay for the property.

There is no doubt that on a one off basis you can do it cheaper, but having the infrastructure to turn 5, 10, 25 or 50 units in any given month is not simple and requires a real commitment.

You can utilize that as basis when speaking with the seller... 

The cost basis is the $700k purchase price plus $25k in renovations, totaling $725k.

Or is there any basis for the assumptions that (1) “adding solar and other sustainability upgrades” will cost $12k and (2) that doing such will add an additional $200/month in NOI?