Greetings,Here is an update on the current National Commercial Industrial Real Estate Market in The United States of America as of March 10, 2024:Initial estimates of industrial investment activity suggest that a little less than $60 billion exchanged hands in 2023, approximately 15% below the market's 10-year average.

Have you run all your numbers, with gross rents for 8 months a year, minus all expenses, minus a big property management fee of 30% (and they should never charge for owner blocked time unless you are asking for cleaning, services,etc.)

This can help you estimate expenses more precisely and function as a reference for contractors.To obtain quotations for the job, get in touch with many contractors.

You don't deduct income, you deduct expenses from your income.Generally speaking, losses experienced as part of passive investing (like operating long term residential rentals) can only be deducted from passive income.

Split will be cheaper and central will be more expensive but besides easy comparison, ask about maintenance on each.

I've included an example below to help illustrate this.So different lenders have different rates (which do vary even for DSCR loans) but these are factors they all consider.See example below:DSCR < 1Principal + Interest = $1,700Taxes = $350, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $50Total PITIA = $2200Rent = $2000DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2000/2200 = 0.91Since the DSCR is 0.91, we know the expenses are greater than the income of the property.DSCR >1Principal + Interest = $1,500Taxes = $250, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $25Total PITIA = $1875 Rent = $2300DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2300/1875 = 1.23DSCR lenders generally let you vest either individually or as an LLC.

is it worth offering discounts on rent and asking the tenant to fix minor issues themselves rather than calling the landlord, this to avoid property management company expenses? 

This criteria is for 1-4 and 5-8 unit programs.I've included an example below to help illustrate this.So different lenders have different rates (which do vary even for DSCR loans) but these are factors they all consider.See example below:DSCR < 1Principal + Interest = $1,700Taxes = $350, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $50Total PITIA = $2200Rent = $2000DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2000/2200 = 0.91Since the DSCR is 0.91, we know the expenses are greater than the income of the property.DSCR >1Principal + Interest = $1,500Taxes = $250, Insurance = $100, Association Dues = $25Total PITIA = $1875 Rent = $2300DSCR = Rent/PITIA = 2300/1875 = 1.23DSCR lenders generally let you vest either individually or as an LLC.

Every skip tracer says they are the best and often times more expensive isn’t always better. 

Living where you can afford to live isn't a new idea anyway; it's just that in today's mindset of "I should have my every dream and desire met all the time and money shouldn't matter", there's too many people chasing Charleston, Asheville, San Diego, Portland, etc and that makes housing prices there expensive.