There's just so much fundamentally important info about REI that most data don't convey (Zillow discovered this the hard way, when they tried and failed to invest in real estate based largely on data inputs, rather than boots-on-the-ground knowledge).Real estate is literally a physical item, with physical functions, governed by physical realities, and because of that, it can only be fully understood through physical means (seeing properties with your own eyes, experiencing neighborhoods in person, meeting potential tenants face-to-face...or at least on Zoom).

Fire suppression system will be your major item to resolve.  

I shutter a bit at the "none of it could have been predicted" statement. 60K is a big chunk of cash.Yes, there are many items that can come up but as with house flipping and other renos the small signs can be missed.What items caught you by surprise?

A lot of things can be considered wear items which you can't charge for.

It will greatly increase the standard deduction, making it very unlikely you will be itemizing and taking any deduction for your home mortgage interest.

You'll see new (to me) acronyms like LUQs (Large Unusual Questionable Items) and, in the text, exactly what the IRS "flags" as issues that warrant examination, like large cash charitable contributions, companies that only have expenses (no income), at-risk loss rules for large pass-through entity losses, stringent requirements for the rehabilitation credit, SFR with no income and $137,111 loss, etc.

We have a list of 185 items that go into each rentals we design, many of them multiple times.

I cook most my meals and don't buy unecessary items....usually.

Whether you want to be technically correct on relatively small items that are immaterial for your overall tax situation is your decision.

Got a new property checklist item for you.