We just lost a 6-unit off-market deal because we and the seller were $50k apart.

@Mark Spidellfrom podcast 156 fame is active in Tulsa, you might want to reach out to him.I would think that you would have a difficult time getting funding from a traditional bank since you just lost your W2 income, but your wife should be able to qualify on her own to get you started.

Remember you don't have to own a property to control it.

your best bet is to have one on your team, and consult with him on this matter, i am not a CPA but i believe all those improvements should have been put on your taxes the years that you had the work done, it would have increased the asset value then and kept adding as you did the projects and reported them. i think you are in for an uphill battle now. the work you may have done say 5 years ago can't just be claimed now, there is 5 years of depreciation that is against that work that the IRS will claim you lost out on, so that will have to be deducted from your numbers.

Only lost 15K on the deal.  

If you were private money you might get 6-10% and have no control and not learn anything.If you want to make it work and be a true "1/5 partner" than do 1/5 of all the work.  

My point is you may need to make some sacrifices for building systems which can result into lost tenant area and profit. 

There just is not the same amount of control and it is a pain when something goes wrong if the property is hours and hours away.

If you are the landlord then you control the terms of the rental agreement. 

It was tough and we almost lost the property.