. § 164(a) saysGeneral rule Except as otherwise provided in this section, the following taxes shall be allowed as a deduction for the taxable year within which paid or accruedand paragraph (1) is State and local, and foreign, real property taxes. 

I'm sure you are not the only person that is following this thread.Your first paragraph tells me that you "get it".

I started a thread in the introductions forum.

I agree with Mitch's last paragraph.

You can be audited and never know it.They may simply choose not to do anything but note your name with a paragraph in a file from an audit.

There was an email with pushback, talking about how wonderful (blah blah blah) the dog is - but I made it clear it's non-negotiable.I then get a 4 paragraph email (from the husband) with way too much personal information that boiled down to them asking how she can get out of the lease if we cannot accept the dog.

This is my first post, besides an introduction.

Well, I did say "Summary", as in a couple of paragraphs for the investor to describe their business model, their experience, and the types of deals they're looking at, so Karen I think we're saying the same basic thing.

But for the legit ones who make a genuine offer and are able to close the deal or flip the contract on time, I see no problem as long as no one is taken advance of, as defined in my first paragraph.

In regards to your last paragraph, the cash value of the life insurance is not your primary investment.