I open the door and let the potential buyers do what they must do in order to determine if the property suits their needs.Not talking an investor out of buying a property is a poor arguement for justifying having someone drive around for 8 hours, not knowing that you're working with others, and therefore it's likely that they just wasted a day or weeks.

Theyve been driving over the neighbors lawn (no easement) to the nearest street.

After 2 years we found that we had 20% equity because of market growth and we refinanced with a 30yr fixed at the same rate to get rid of the PMI.

Prices diverged from a historical 6% growth rate from the mid 70's to the early 80's.

You earned nothing and have nothing to deduct.You might have had expenses (driving around, fees already paid and not recoverable) that can be deducted.The simple version of the rule is money actually spent on business activities might be something you can deduct.

Hence you are re-investing the profits to grow the business to a more sustainable level.Like a start up company you have to put in money to get things off the ground.

Its a duplex out of state where my parents live, so I visit alot (about a 4 and a half hour drive).

His willingness to drive an hour and spend a couple hours giving me estimates has translated into tens of thousands of dollars for him.Win/win all around...

I drive by them several times a day and can hear them calling my name each time.

Growth is all over the place thanks to the influx of NY and NJ ex-pats looking for cheaper cost of living, though lately it feels like it's starting to even out a bit.