@Nancy B.The DMSH is less an expensing election and more a book conformity election.There's a concept involved in the DMSH and other areas of the capital expenditure code section and regs called "units of property".You don't examine each line item on a receipt, you examine "units of property".Buildings are called out under the units of property regs as having special treatment. 

Is there any advice that I should be aware of when making this leap forward.Thank you for this forum, many informative conversations & hospitable members.Eager to her your input !

I also see and hear those same "professionals" massively under-quote repair costs, forget to mention important due diligence items that if not checked can be a nightmare for the new buyer/operator, and make ridiculous claims that fly in the face of building codes/basic supply and demand factors/actual operating experience, and the like. 

@Farzan SetayeshNothing out of the ordinary, but I use the combination of the following consistently:- google photo for agent photo/video sharing- docusign for executing docs- acrobat X for all other doc edits- whatsapp for texts and phone calls- online money wiring or ACH for large items- paypal or venmo for smaller items- zelle or ACH for collecting rent- yelp or taskrabbit for misc repairs- lawnlove for landscaping or snow removal - skype for group meetings- Dropbox for online record storage- google voice for call forwarding - email for all tenant communications - autodraft for all utility & mortgage payments- online payments for all taxes & insurance - google earth to survey neighborhoods for out of town purchases - amazon or HD for online parts ordering The automation & streamlining of low value tasks enable me to preserve time for higher value activities.

You will learn and remember different items each time you read it.Think about where you want to live.....big city, small city, somewhere in between. 

Some lenders (smaller banks and credit unions) look at other items aside from work history and you could qualify for their portfolio loans.

Conversely, as a local, it's a little easier for you to tackle a lower-end, higher-CAP unit at first and really keep your eye on it. 

We've been shown several properties that, to use our internal conversation, a 25 year old couple could perform.

What items should i be looking at, checking for in my due diligence before closing? 

Geoff,Your numbers look good, just a couple of items which can go south and it’s best to be prepared; are your construction numbers solid - do you have written bids from contractors?