Will it hurt my chances to get another loan this year as my schedule E will show a slight loss on paper once the units are all averaged.

That will spell out what happens to any deposits and earnest money and provisions and protections built in.If you do not understand specific language in a contract or what will happen then you should not sign it until you do.Sadly everyone gets into a contract and then does damage control later on.Saying to a judge in court "I didn't understand what I signed your honor" will not fly.They will come back to you doing your own due diligence and if you didn't sign you wouldn't be in this positions.Also make sure you are not confusing earnest money with lender fees required upfront to fund a loan.Those are generally non-refundable but again review all docs you signed.If a real estate broker/agent was not involved in the contract do not expect them to give legal advice.Some nice attorneys might let you e-mail a copy of the contract to them and spend a few minutes on the phone with you.If you need something deeper than that expect to shell out some coin.

Your title co should be able to do a O&E report for you, which will show you liens and judgement & mortgage records, & how the property was conveyed, etc.

It (and especially Marty's McDonald's reference) reminded me of Michael Gerber's book "The E-Myth Revisited".

I have heard that income would be the taxable amount on schedule E (line 22) + depreciation, but if that's true, I would have qualified.

.* Get the prior Sch E's from the owner if possible.* Grade the neighborhood: crime statistics, school quality, bus line access, parks, shopping, amenities* It's a negative if the bldg is in a large 4-plex clustered area; proximity to SFR's is a plus.* 5% vacancy is too low for a "low end" 4-plex.

, their level of responsibility and authority and the biggest one is can they be trusted (have they been trained) to deal with your tenants in a way that you and your interests are always represented in the most positive light.There is a book out titled The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber that addresses the issue of expanding a business from just the original founder and doing it successfully.

Then there is a table for each calendar year with the Secedule E categories across the top, and dated entries on each row.

Steve E. come on down, we will make room for you.

Very simple process, about 15 minutes to fill out forms and e-mailed back.