Yardi has a light (cheaper) version out that might be worth a look but have not tested it myself yet.

Here is an article that discusses whether or not it is advantageous to finance your home from a taxation perspective:Tax DeductionOf course it helps, but I think the point of the comments above is that you shouldn't count on the deduction because Congress can change that fairly easily as is evidenced in the articles floating the test balloons again.

I have some people how are realtor/flippers who do them for very slim spreads because they get the realtor commission too and they want to do volume.

The citation above is exceedingly clear that the 3-year mark is the litmus test for leases being considered "sales."

I have heard of people using this in the past to sell real estate, however none were assignment of contracts.I would like to see this tested

There are different thresholds and tests for sales tax, income tax, property taxes and other taxes.What constitutes "doing business" is a legal definition defined by each state.

Is there a set of tests to determine whether or not the venture is suddenly "active" and thus subject to UDTI?

There are a couple in my area that will still do the simo close... so it is possible to find one, but your chances are slim.

In order to test this theory, hire a flat-fee broker, put the property in the mls, and offer a typical 3% commission.

, so I threw my first idea out to test the waters.