Tom,From an insurance perspective, ask them about claims and see if they can get "Loss Runs" (reports of losses on policies) for the past 5 years. 

Do they leverage the purchase for taxes and depreciation?

I recommend CA residents look at Reno, Nevada because of the proximity, landlord friendly, low property taxes, and influx of high wage jobs and strong appreciation. 

Hi All,As I look at my options to finance my first RE deal, I was researching the early withdrawal penalty from TSP (Federal equivalent to 401K) and just learned that I can take out a TSP loan with no penalty, no tax impact and just have to pay it off with interest (seems to be 4-5% range right now) within 60 months. 

Are there specific conditions that are required to claim a loss for my wife since she worked on rental properties?

My attorney recommend I withdraw my claim so as not to get caught up in something unexpected and to be free of this case which i did as they had been gone for several months.

Given the flexibility of our jobs, which offers nationwide opportunities, we have the privilege of choosing our permanent address anywhere in the country while remaining compliant with IRS regulations regarding tax homes.Initially, our aim was to purchase property in the Portsmouth, Durham, or Salem areas of New Hampshire.

While demolition costs are nondeductible, a taxpayer may claim a loss deduction when the depreciable business property is retired from use in a trade or business or from use in the production of income.I would strongly advice talking with a real estate focused accountant here to help guide you.

They designed a very nice postcard for me and i sampled a batch of about 1500 postcards to a list I provided to them.My results....7 responses (0.46%).The list was Out-of-State owners I pulled from the tax records, of which I got about a 13% response rate using yellow letters.I'm not going to say anything bad about them, I just don't think postcards work well for finding motivated sellers in my area.

I know a guy who's helped me out of several insurance claims in the KC area.