@Mason Clark It's not clear if your offer is in writing or just verbally?

Account Closed the last several deals we have done have been working with a good broker who is not afraid to write offers on properties that are off market. 

Are majority of investors using spreadsheets, online software, or old school paper and pen?

If you work 40 hours a week it is tough to claim 41 hours a week on real estate.And yes you are limited to $25,000 passive loss limitation, new tax laws only make this worse or better depending on if you can use all the depreciation, as you can write off more even faster.

While my background is in software development, I’ve spent a good amount of my free time trading equities/options, learning finance, and now looking into real estate.

If I go and add cells myself, I need to re-write the formulas for everything to flow properly.  

There’s a wealth of knowledge included in each, but here’s a quick breakdown to make things easier:The Book on Tax Strategies for the Savvy Real Estate Investor by @Amanda Han: Creative ways to maximize tax deductions for your real estate businessClever ways to write off your kids and every penny of your travelEasy tips and tricks to cut down bookkeeping timeSimple ways to protect yourself from an IRS auditFREE bonus video: "The Big Changes in the 2018 Tax Code"FREE bonus chapter: "Keeping Up with the Latest in Tax Changes"… And more!

He's told me that he'd be willing to get creative and try to help me figure out how to come up with a down payment by possibly writing up a contract to gift me the money at closing.So after I found this site I started thinking.....He's owned the building for 14 years , so I know he has equity, just don't know how much.

Did the agent state the reason in writing or was the reason verbal and all that is physical is the checked box on the termination?

I write about in my blog link on my signature.