I just was wondering if anyone had advice on performing house hacking in the big city.

Their only option is to foreclose on the asset or do a workout with a borrower to get performing again.When someone has a full personal recourse loan guarantee against them and assets to go after lenders will bend the loan criteria a little.

You will want to check local law, but in my jurisdiction an UNLICENSED person CAN do the following:  Delivering a lease application, a lease, or any amendment thereof to any person;Receiving a lease application, lease, or amendment thereof, a security deposit, rental payment, or any related payment for delivery to and made payable to the real estate firm or owner;Showing a rental unit to any person, or executing leases or rental agreements, and the employee or retainee is acting under the direct instruction of the owner or designated or managing brokerProviding information about a rental unit, a lease, an application for lease, or a security deposit and rental amounts to any prospective tenant; orAssisting in the performance of property management functions by carrying out administrative, clerical, financial, or maintenance tasks.The key is in how the money is handled. 

.- Performance can be a real problem. 

The analysis needs these items, learn the terms and you can save the $59 bucks:purchase price (PP)down  payment (DP)   derived financed amount (FA)all numbers are annualized, rents for the whole year are GSIGSINOI  (just gsi less expenses)DSCR (debt service coverage ratio) = NOI / mortgage*12cash-on-cash:  NOI / down payment [how well your cash is performing]cap-rate:  NOI / PP [ how well this property generates cash]for an all cash sale, the DP = PP, cash-on-cash will become the cap-rate.

Lastly, don't assume that it will be very easy to find a buyer if your contract and if you are not in position financially to perform to the purchase contract you are intending to bind yourself to, without finding a successful assignee of that contract to buy you out of it and complete the purchase.  

When you create a statement from your company that authorizes a member or owner or officer or designated other person to perform a duty(ies) or function(s) of your business, this statement usually needs to be signed by someone who is identified in your Articles of Organization (or Certificate of Organization – whatever it is called in the state of origin) as an authorized person.

Can I write off these expenses later if these repairs are performed prior to renting and paid in cash ?

Perform due diligence on the subject property to see if its a deal at all.

Especially on your first deal, it would help to have guidance as to how to structure the deal, how to perform the inspection, etc.