I made the same argument at first as well for someone with multiple rentals (As I do for like...home office deduction, if you're managing 5 rentals, collecting rents, screening tenants ect...I am comfortable taking that deduction- I was going to apply same here but saw a no aggregation wording) 

Though I'm a licensed real estate agent, in southern CA there are some REALLY well established offices that work the high end listings, and have their marketing down like a well oiled machine.

Long-term appreciation is big because I wouldn't intend to sell anything until retirement (30+ years from now) I am also in a very high tax bracket and hopeful that real estate investments may enable more deductions.Commercial:1) I've shied away from retail strips due to feedback from banks desire to not lend there and overall amazon impact2) Looking primarily at small office complexes (2-4 unit) with service businesses - anything to look at for with office buildings?

This assumes a $1200 rent for the space 2 employees at $15/hr and 25% cogs of revenue on coffee.

If not can you refer me to any agents or offices that specialize in foreclosure properties?

LLC- From my understanding I'll be subject to the 30% tax withholding (on gross revenue) for NR aliens- Is this offset by the end of the tax year when I pay taxes?

The problem would be getting them to commit and look at this, I know a lot of management firms utilize these deposits for extra revenue but they need to be fair and give you every opportunity to correct. 

I was sitting in a lender's office waiting for the banker, when I spotted this article. 

Let me know if you want to talk in detail about it; I'm Chief Investment Officer of a REIT based in NYC.

At my management company here in CT, we generally stay within a 30 minute radius of our offices.