@Brandon Sturgill thank you, I failed to mention this is an older building, built in the early 1900s

Failing to take all legitimate deductions will only increase your taxes and do nothing to affect your dti ratio.Banks know how to read balance sheets and tax returns.

To expand this hypothetical scenario further, let's say you have a Personal Credit Card that gives you a LOT of perks, for instance, airline miles, hotel credits, cash back, etc.You want to use this card for ALL your business purchases and get the benefits.Will this fail an IRS Audit even though you have all the receipts and the Credit Card Statements?

You can try do it DIY, but I have had to clean up LLCs from cleints who tries and failed to create an LLC - they were essentially paying and working for something that didn't actually work.

And if the lure of a zero net mortgage continues to pull you toward a purchase, just keep in mind that the $400 you pay on the rental scenario can become a $400 or more payment on a purchase when the roof, HVAC, foundation, etc. start to fail, which are all near-term possibilities at that price point..

We had a failed attempt at 1031 exchange last year but were able to eventually buy an apartment building so the losses generated by the cost seg. study will cover the capital gains we would have had to pay.

A few months is way to long to let a water leak go on, and you would have failed inspection had she called her case worker instead of you. 

If this property fails the test, how would you guys approach the seller about lowering the price? 

Digital is fine, but you had better have a fail-safe system.

Failure to plan is planning to fail so make a plan to increase your income and credit