I don't want to put my kids in public school; I want to teach them myself, the way I learned.

Yes, interest is a tax deductible expense within limits.IRS Publication 936

Go to the County Judge's office and ask which lawyers file the most evictions and get a copy of their documents as public record so you can see how they do it and use that as your guide if you want to do it yourself.I'd be curious to hear how many hours per month you and your family allocate to managing this property using your approach.  

I have capital in savings that would reduce the loan by half, but plan on using that for a down payment on my next purchase . 

In my career so far, I've bought and sold several businesses, and raised circa $80 million for both privately-owned and publicly-listed companies.For years I've been passively involved in Real Estate, renting out a property for decent cash flow, and continuing to educate myself for the "big push" into REI.

@Jim Hilera REIT by definition is publically traded.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p527/ch02.html#en...The above link has some good useful info.  

Looking at the IRA publications for these forms I don't believe I need to issue a 1099 because I'm not paying anybody, and I don't need to issue a 1098 because the money I receive comes from an entity.

I think it will be a good deal for someone... and like you I want to make sure who ever takes it on can finish it.. and will appreciate being part of a very public BP project !!

So if you gift any one person $20k, then you must reduce your lifetime exclusion by $6k.