4) Ground up approach: (cost of roof)/(useful life of new roof) + ditto for HVAC, paint, landscaping, ... 5) Similar to (4) but inspector determines remaining useful life of roof, paint, HVAC, etc. and timetable for updates is established.6) Other?

Lee, For what I do, I use "disposable LLC"s as such: If I find a property I'm interested in, I use a generic, established LLC, such as Sarasota Investments, LLC - insert your name here.

If you think about doing it this way, make sure you work with someone well established, otherwise, things could get worse than they currently are. 

The residential rental property depreciation schedule is 27.5 years because that is the class life of residential rental property established by congress and implemented by the tax code.  

If i was an established investor i would ask myself...

It may take a little longer to get established and use conventional financing.

You eventually establish your own buyer's list and deal flow and you're an official wholesaler, move to fix/flipping the property yourself, buy/hold some of those and bamm........ your sipping Mia Tias on the beach!

If you control a property through a lease option, can you, after an established amount of time, claim the income from the controlled property in an effort to acquire financing for it?

I live in Leander-- I think we should have REI Group established for North Austin burbs.

I'm planning to start out with entry level fix and flips, 2bd/1ba-3bd/2ba in established neighborhoods.